


A Swap in Perspectives

by Hana672



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Arguments, Car accident but it's vaguely mentioned, Drama, Fighting/Combat, Fluff and Angst, I'll post warnings, Identity Swap, Implied Sexual Content, Jealousy, Kidnapping, M/M, Mild Cursing, Multiple Dragon Witches, My attempt at angst, No really I think I'm pretty bad at it, Panic Attacks, Past Relationship(s), Personality Swap, Relationship(s), Seriously it's gonna feel non-exsistent but the relationship(s) there don't worry, Slow Burn, Some gore but rarely mentioned, What did you expect Remus is in this, Will update tags as story progresses, but vaguely mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24450265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hana672/pseuds/Hana672
Summary: As more and more arguments start breaking out left and right between all of the Sides, Thomas can’t seem to keep up with his dysfunctional personas… especially now that they’ve swapped personalities. After a swift car wreck, the Sides awake to find themselves with new perspectives and thoughts… Through their new, out of control urges and haywire abilities, can the Sides put aside their bickering before Thomas’s brain, quite literally, ceases to function?The stakes are abnormally high in this whimsical, cliche AU of a Sanders Sides fanfic!
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 15
Kudos: 97





	1. A Rising Flame

**Author's Note:**

> So! First fanfic! Boy howdy, this is gonna be a fun experience...
> 
> This first chapter is just setting up most of the story that's to come so the more exciting stuff will come later! I'll be posting more soon so if you're interested, stick around! The beginning is quite cryptic but don't worry... that's intentional. ;3

The shining light of day comes and goes as time passes on, slowly morphing itself into the cool breath of night. It’s a funny thing, time is. 

Never stopping. 

Ever changing… 

Heh, things can change so fast, it seems as though time is a cruel being. Dangling the prospect of hope in your face, only in the end to snatch it from right under you. 

No warnings.

No apologies. 

Just… Gone.

But you’re probably wondering what the concepts of “time” and “change” have to do with our little story here, huh? 

Well, everything, actually.

It’s especially concerning to a particular man pacing through his living room, searching for his lost car keys through the various cushion seats of his couch. You see, _time_ was not on his side.

“Oh, come on… Where is it?” After finally landing a role in an upcoming musical at his local theater, Thomas Sanders was growing more anxious by the minute as the clock ticked by. Judging from the small window of time on his iPhone’s screen, he’d end up being late for his very first rehearsal if he couldn’t find where he had last left those darn car keys!

Taking a breath from his spiking heart, the panicking man knew he’d most likely never find his lost item… not without help, that is. If Thomas as himself couldn’t remember where his keys went, he’ll just have to go straight to the source.

But, the doubts of the uneasy man were confirmed after he called out to his most logical Side, Logan, and no blue tied individual popped up. Lately, the most punctual of the Sides has gotten into the habit of disappearing out of the blue and returning at inopportune moments, to say the least… 

Though, Thomas’ concerns were not left unanswered.

“Oh, kiddo! I-I didn’t mean it like that!” Three of his six Sides had jumped up from the nonexistent holes beneath them, all of them, except for one.

“I know, Pat.” A heavy eye shadowed man “ _appeared_ ” sitting below the stairs of the apartment. “It’s just… kinda hard _not_ to worry, especially with what’s been going on lately.”

“And just WHAT has been _going on_ lately?!” And with that, the final of the three bickering Sides had spoken. Roman didn’t look like he was having the most… extravagant day, considering his twitching eyebrow and scowling face. “Oh! That’s right. NOTHING has been going on lately!! Other than _fantastic_ circumstances that have _blessed_ Thomas!”

Concerned for his angst-y child, Patton inched closer to the slouching man. “Is… Is this because of Deceit and R-Remus?”

“IT’S NOT JUST THEM!” Virgil shot up like a raging rocket, full of fiery passion. “Haven’t you guys _felt_ it? I-It’s like a damn itch I can’t scratch… Something bad is gonna happen, I _know_ it!”

“Oh, please, Virgil!” Roman huffed. “Like Patton said, you’re worrying over nothing-”

“NOTHING?!” And with that, the fireworks had burst. Virgil was like a cat backed into a corner with Roman being the barking dog trying to chase away the unyielding creature… All the while, Patton kept apologizing and failing to calm the roaring blaze the other two Sides had ignited.

Thomas was a bit taken aback by the site of his Sides fighting. Sure, they’ve had their arguments from time to time, it’s been especially exhausting due to _Deceit’s_ and _Remus’_ mischievous acts growing more frequent, but this… This was different. It was as though a small flame was rising, _growing_ into an uncontrollable forest fire, threatening to burn down precious relationships if left unchecked… 

“Woah. Guys! Isn’t this getting a little…?” Thomas tried calming his squabbling Sides, but every word passed right over them.

“Of course _you’d_ think this is just ‘nothing’,” Roman made his usual offended pose at Virgil’s slight comment. “You always ignore the real issues with your _frivolous_ remarks and _whimsical_ distractions!”

“Gah! How dare you!” Virgil just rolled his eyes as Roman was about to go off on yet another “offence” speech. Patton was looking increasingly more distressed. “I take offence to that, you gothletic reject! And great! Now you’re picking up on Logan’s irritable speech… Speaking of which, if that _ghosting_ egghead was here, he’d probably tell you the _exact_ same thing Pat and me keep saying-”

“Actually, w-where _is_ Logan?” Thomas piped up.

“PRECISELY! WHERE. IS. LOGAN?!” Roman’s echoing voice rang throughout the small apartment, even going far past the literal world and into the figurative mind of Thomas’ subconscious, all the way to where Logan was residing. 

The stiff shirted nerd sneezed by unforeseen forces at Roman’s mention of his name.

“Bless you.” A half cloaked man sat with one leg across the other, his one snake eye glimmered with curiosity as he stared up at his stoic intruder. “Now, repeat it to me again, Logan dear. What are my… _intentions_?”

******

“That is correct.” Logan readjusted his perfectly placed glasses. “Over the past two months, you and Remus have been making it a point to intrude within our short lived conversations, especially when the topic is on one of Thomas’ many abrupt issues. Why? What exactly are your intentions?”

Deceit closed his eyes, contemplating his neatly dressed trespasser’s quarries. The snake started to lightly bounce his crossed leg as he sat atop the edge of the garden’s main fountain. When Logan first arrived within Deceit’s domain, he was stunned for a brief moment. The logical Side predicted Deceit’s place of work to be in a much more… refined place. But as Logan entered through the steel gate to a bustling garden, of all things, he had to admit, it was breathtaking.

The budding tulips, the colorful wave of snapdragons, all the way to the prickly bushes dawning the fountain’s edge, every plant within Deceit’s Garden of Lies shown with indescribable beauty and delicate care.

“Heh,” Deceit scoffed. “Oh come now, Logan! I’m just looking out for Thomas! **_Everything_ ** I do is for his benefit!” Judging from the uneasy look on Logan’s face, Deceit figured that lie wasn’t going to appease the nerd’s concern.

Perking up from his lounging state, the sarcastic man strode towards his unwelcome guest. “Alright, alright! You’ve caught me red handed! I can’t get **_anything_** past such an intelligent and **_unshakable_** Side.”

Ignoring his short stature, Deceit confidently fondled Logan’s dark blue tie. 

“But I have to say, you’re quite selfish, Logan.” The snake’s demeanor quickly changed. Jekyll was no longer present. It was Hyde’s turn to play. “You’ve been persistent in asking me question after question for the past few months, so now it’s my turn… _Why_ , all of a sudden, are _you_ so very interested in my reasoning? It’s not like any of you cared before.”

“That’s not entirely accurate-” A sudden tug from a strong willed force made both the nerd _and_ snake disappear into thin air, leaving the Garden of Lies alone in its majesty.

******

Popping up from the same unseen hole, Logan and Deceit joined the other three arguing Sides within the small apartment’s living room.

“AH-HA! So I managed to find you-” It seems that after many tries, Roman’s summoning technique finally succeeded… a little too well, that is. “GAAAH- BY GREAT ODIN'S BEARD, what is _he_ doing here?!” The creative Side recoiled his hand at the sight of their new, slimy guest.

“Yes, sooo **_good_ ** to see you Ro-”

“HISSSSSS!!” 

Deceit sighed heavily. “...Great to see you as well, _Virgil_.” 

“OH NO YOU DON’T,” Redirecting his anger, Roman stared down at his apathetic calculator of a Side. “After all the _countless_ times we’ve called you for help, big brain Logan finally decides to _grace_ us with his presence- AND YOU’RE WITH _HIM_!” Logan was never good at these types of things, feelings are incredibly complicated, but it almost seemed like his Prince charming was… jealous.

“Roman, you’re misreading the situation-”

“Told you something bad was gonna happen…” From his small corner near the stairs, Virgil spat out his sly thoughts.

The chastising royal was at his wits end. “Oh, can it worrying Nancy!”

“ROMAN!” The oddly quiet dad figure decided to rejoin the fading squabble, taking his aim at the insulting knight. 

Watching this little disagreement take place, a smiling snake wasn’t missing this golden opportunity for mischief. “Hmm~ Trouble in paradise? And I thought all of you _Light_ Sides were besties!”

That did it.

Virgil and Roman were about to retaliate at the smirking snake, until another, louder voice took hold.

“GUYS, THAT’S ENOUGH!!” This time, Thomas’ words had hit their targets. “I know everyone’s been a little on edge lately-”

“Not everyone…” Roman and Patton muttered simultaneously, their comments going unheard.

“But I can’t deal with _all_ of you right now. I’m already late to the rehearsal and for the life of me, I just can’t find my damn keys-”

“Kitchen counter. Left side from here. Within the first drawer.” Logan spoke as if this was common knowledge to all, even though he knew it wasn’t. “You left it there when returning home late last night after that small outing with your friends.”

For a short minute, Thomas’ face was blank. With a long pause, Thomas took a very deep, gulping breath of air inwards. As he released, he calmly walked over to the drawer, found his keys right where Logan said they’d be, and headed for his car without another word.

Roman glared at Logan with a vexing expression. The logical Side continued on with his stoic nature. The twitching of The Prince’s eyebrow grew with more intensity.

“Be careful on the road!” Virgil cautiously shouted at the exhausted man walking away.

“We may be separate beings, but we are still all a part of Thomas’ subconscious, so technically we’ll be with him while traveling to the theater.” Logan informed. 

And just as they arrived, the Sides currently placed within the somewhat neat apartment sinked down without a trace, as if they were never there in the first place. Returning to Thomas’ inner mind, the tiny flame from before only continued to expand within all of his Sides hearts, as the mentally fatigued performer drove to his rehearsal.


	2. A Ball of a Time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Thomas leaves for his rehearsal, the Sides continue to talk things out in the Creation Castle, Roman's place of work...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Y'all are gonna get some fluff! ...But also some angst(?) I don't know. I try. 
> 
> Also, Roman is gonna speak some Spanish! I personally do not speak Spanish, so I might get some things wrong. My apologies in advance!

“I’m glad we could all come here together to work out some… _concerns_ we’ve had with each other,” Roman stands tall besides the blazing fireplace within the cozy, yet elegant, guest room. “But before we begin, I have to ask, WHY IS _HE_ STILL HERE?!”

Deceit sat, looking extremely comfy, with one leg across the other on a red velvet couch next to the luxurious, golden glass doors leading to an open balcony.

“Roman, be nice!” From the matching one-seater, Patton chirped in. “He may have some… different views in mind, but we should still be n-nice.”

The comfortable snake only sneered away from the emotional Side’s lying comment. The air was thick with tension and it wasn’t just because of the invading snake.

“Oh, please. I’m the least of your problems.” Deceit shifted his legs. “Seems even with my absence, you Light Sides still find insults to throw at each other. Really, you’re making my job _so_ much **_harder_ **!”

“See? You see the _contributions_ he brings?” Atop the armrest of the one-seater, Virgil waved his arms in the smirking snake’s direction. “C’mon, Pat. You can’t actually think that this _liar_ has anything _helpful_ to say! Logan?”

“Well, I would object to any immediate ploys Deceit might bring to one of Thomas’ conflicts in concern for further complications,” Again, Logan straightens his neatly placed glasses. “But if he has actual worries to exchange, I believe it would be fair and quite informative to hear him out.”

The Prince could feel the flame in his heart flourish after hearing the logical Side finish his proposal. He shouldn’t be feeling like this! It was childish to get so shaken up just by seeing him with another person. Besides, Logan said it was a misunderstanding… 

As Roman’s eyes drifted, they caught a quick glance at the cloaked man in question and he was… smiling.

He knew it wasn’t right. 

Silly! Stupid! Childish!

But the look Deceit had given him- That damned _smirk_. The snake knew something he didn’t, making The Prince’s already chipping crown crumble even further.

“...Fine.” Before anyone could question it, Roman was half way towards the room’s main doors. “If you want that _‘no truths, all lies’_ scoundrel here, fine! But like _hell_ if you think I want him anywhere _near_ me… Not in my castle.”

“Language-” The steaming Prince had slammed the door with a booming _bang_ before Patton got a chance to finish his reprimand.

“...Huh. Well, that was quite a reaction.” Deceit openly remarked.

******

“ _Stupid, stupid, stupid… STUPID!_ ” The sun glistened off of the intricate, golden paneling adorning the many windows within the enchanted ballroom. Roman furiously paced to and fro the dance floor, his gentle footsteps lightly tapping through the silent air.

The dear Prince felt waves of emotions washing over him.

Anger… 

Frustration… 

_Jealousy_ … 

...And Sadness.

He knew that making a fuss and storming out wasn’t the _best_ way to handle the situation. He should have played it cool like he always did, acting as though this was all normal. This was how relationships worked. Everything was fine. They’re _both_ happy, after all… 

But deep down, he-

“Roman!” It was like an electric current circulating through his spine as The Prince heard Logan’s voice ring towards him. “Is… Is everything alright? You looked… distressed back in the room with the others.”

_Play it cool, Roman. Don’t let him see._ “Yes. I’m sorry for that… degrading act. I didn’t mean anything by it, I just- Nothing. I-It’s nothing!” The concern protruding out behind the logical Side’s glasses grew after The Prince’s response. 

Logan walked closer.

Roman stepped back.

“Roman…” Before the pained Prince had noticed, the two of them were already face to face now. “If… this is about Deceit, I can assure you _nothing_ was going on-”

“IT ISN’T THAT!” Logan jumped at the sudden shout his companion gave. “It isn’t _just_ that…” The Prince felt a shame like no other creeping up his back, making his cheeks flush with embarrassment. He didn’t dare look up from the white stoned floor below. “When… we started dating one another I didn’t want to go over the top, like I usually did, because it was a new experience for the both of us. We had our limits. Our boundaries. But when we became official I thought things would be different, I thought they’d _change_ … But they didn’t.”

Logan listened on, his brows furrowing slightly. He was hesitant about interrupting his significant other’s speech. “And I-I know you have a hard time _expressing_ yourself, but I just thought _something_ would change! _Dios mios…_ I t-thought it was the right call to make, going official… You seemed to not _mind_ my advancements, but I can never _tell_ with you… Maybe… Maybe this was a bad idea-”

“Falsehood!” Roman shot his head up, small tears stinging the edges of his glossy eyes, only to be greeted by a glaring Logan struggling to find the _right_ words. “I am not one for… _romantics_ , nor am I enthralled by ‘cliche’ tactics at lov… passionate _feelings_. But even so-”

The sudden warmth covering his hand was a shock to the shaking Prince. It seemed as though Roman should be giving his love more credit in the “showing affection” game because right now, “I want to make this work.” Logan was winning. “I want to make _us_ work.”

It was as though the entire galaxy had stopped, all so a flustered Roman could fully feel his lovers hand grasping his. He was still on the fence about the future of their relationship, but seeing this nerd’s once emotionless face melt into a crimson hue, it was enough to settle The Prince’s worries… For now, at least.

Roman softly smiled, tenderly brushing a strand of hair back into place of the nerd’s slicked back hair. “Mi Estrella, I-”

“...Sooo, are you two finally gonna fuck now or just continue with this _limp_ knock-off of a Hallmark movie?” The couple’s wholesome embrace was shot down in an instant like a deer in hunting season. The high pitched voice that had creeped its way into the two Sides _private_ moment came from an unnoticed, open window to the far right of the ballroom. 

And just when things were getting good, a certain _sibling_ decided to finally make his long awaited entrance… 

******

“Hm~ I haven’t been to the Creation Castle in such a long time, so I must admit, Roman has done **_terrible_ ** work over the years.” Deceit remarks thoughtfully as he caresses the laced, buttercream yellow curtains upon the windows edge. 

“If you’re gonna follow us, the least you can do is _actually_ keep up.” Virgil irritably mumbled as he continued their search through the wide arch of a hallway for their lost friends.

Deceit shrugged at the angry man’s comment. Over the years, the snake has gotten _unfortunately_ comfortable with the emo’s exasperating remarks. “So, Patton,”

The dad-like Side stiffened.

“I just so happened to notice your _lack_ of participation in our previous conversations. I have to ask, why the pursed lips?” Deceit, catching up with the two of them, helplessly stroked Patton’s cat hoodie. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”

“HISS!” A swift swipe by the defensive emo made the snake cease his provoking nature. “I’ve got enough to worry about with this damn _feeling_ , so I don’t need any of your _tricks_ and annoying _schemes_ right now!”

“Wait, what feeling-”

“Virgil, it’s _okay_.” Again, Deceit scoffed at Patton’s false words. “Besides, I’m sure that awful feeling you’ve got isn’t that serious-”

“No. I’m _sure_ of it. _Something’s_ gonna happen and I am NOT letting anything or _one_ slip pass me.” Cautiously turning the corner, Virgil slouched further down like a cat preparing to lunge at it’s target.

Patton sighed heavily.

“...Virgil, you’re _just_ -” The heart of the Sides stopped himself, firmly biting down on his lips. No. Not like this- he wasn’t gonna say it! 

_Control yourself, Pat! You aren’t like that…_

Luckily, his dear friend had missed this small repression technique… though, Deceit didn’t. With intrigued eyes, the snake looked onward as Patton caught up with a fast walking Virgil. While, yes, the sickeningly sweet Side has had the habit of locking away his sadder thoughts, Deceit never imagined the dad Side would have trouble repressing… _ruder_ emotions.

For now, the snake slipped this fact of a playing card safely within the back of his mind for… later use.

As the three Sides got closer to an even larger opening, a loud and _familiar_ racket could be heard coming from the archway.

“And now there’s six balls in the _ballroom_!” Remus shouted aloud as he briskly dodged the swipes coming from his brother’s katana sword.

“Six… Balls… But, I see no balls in here-” The blue tied Side contemplated a safe distance away from the twins spontaneous rumble.

“OH! I could show you!” Ceasing his surprisingly quick dodges, The Duke starts unzipping his… pants. But before the deed could be done, Roman gave the intrusive man a high kick to the face.

“Starlight, _please_ , don’t encourage him any further!” The Prince lunged back just in the nick of time before The Duke’s shurikens managed to catch him. Just as Remus was about to pull out his go-to weapon, three new spectators entered the now, makeshift battle room.

“OOOO! Now there’s twelve balls!” The rat man released his neon green summoning glow at the sight of the new figures. “DEE DEE!”

With a hefty, “HMP-” Deceit plummeted to the damaged floor by the force of Remus’ sudden bear hug. From the sound, the snake _definitely_ broke some bones on impact.

“Oh geez… I’m glad to see you two are alright!” Patton sighed in relief, looking a bit more drained than he was letting on as the four main Sides were reunited.

The relaxed emo straightened his back. “God, don’t go storming off without warning like that! Are you trying to give me more to worry about?” Virgil playfully jabbed at The Prince’s arm. Again, Patton clenched his jaw, halting himself from making any outspoken mistake.

“Patton… Is everything-” Before Logan could ask about his perturbed friend’s upsetting look, another _aggravating_ sound caught the attention of the four Sides. 

“I thought I told you to **_leave_** the tower’s grounds and **_not_** stay put!” The snake hissed out, glaring daggers in The Duke’s direction.

“Awww! But it got so _boring_ there!” Remus pouted. “The dancing fish-men weren’t as entertaining as I thought they’d be… So I decided to pay this _severely_ lacking _ball_ room a visit! I also wanted to test out another small… prank.” As The Duke finished his sentence, a sudden squeal came from Patton’s bubbly stature as two rat skeletons ran down his figure, disappearing out of sight. Roman readied his sword as his brother eerily snickered.

“Pat, you good?” Roman sternly asked, keeping his eyes on Remus’ movements.

“...Y-Yeah.” The startled dad shivered. The rat man’s chaotic nature has been much more active, but for some reason, Patton has been taking the brunt force of it… 

Deceit bard his teeth. He was _this_ close to testing his _leash_ idea on The Duke, maybe then the psychotic man would listen to him… “For _once_ , just once, can you get your _idiotic_ head out of the gutter and actually _listen_ to me, you cretin!” 

The cloaked man’s metaphorical lid had just flipped, though, it wasn’t anything new. Deceit often lost his temper when babysitting the rat man. There was just something he couldn’t put his gloved finger on when it came to the inner workings of The Duke. Something he couldn’t quite understand… 

“Geh! How dare you! I take offence to that.” The Duke puts one arm over his head and the other hand to his heart as he performs his “offence” pose. Somehow, he even managed to get a single tear in this dramatic showcase. 

Deceit could tell… the tear was fake.

“Can you _please_ take this seriously- ERHH…” The deceitful Side ran his gloved hand through his hair in frustration, almost knocking over his black bowler hat in the process.

“Heh. What’s wrong, you two?” Virgil proudly smirked. “Trouble in paradise?”

The snake scowled up at the smug looking emo’s comeback.

“Weren’t you _stressing_ over some non-existent ‘threat’ or something?” The snake spat out as a response.

“It’s not ‘non-existent’! Look, I can take a lot of crap, but I _know_ -”

“Virgil!” A restrained voice finally decided to participate, stealing the attention of everyone in the room. “You… You’re just! You’re just being _paranoid_ !” The moment it left his mouth, Patton knew his overwhelming emotions had broken through his cheerful facade. Forget about Remus’ disturbing version of pranking, how in God’s name was Virgil gonna take _that_ comparison? 

A silence swept the room like a rushing typhoon. 

Virgil went blank.

Roman’s fingertips brushed his mouth in shock.

Logan looked somewhat guilty.

While Deceit… Deceit had a shine of bloodlust in his eyes. In simpler words, he was beyond pissed. He looked like he was on the verge of ripping apart the shaken Patton, that is, until Remus beat him to the punch, literally. 

Though, before the spiked mace holding attacker could make contact, Roman had wrapped a golden chain around The Duke’s torso, tossing him backwards from the now tearing Patton. 

The sobbing Side kept his distance as he repeated his apology statement, over and over to the still vacant emo.

The twins continued their brawl, Roman trying his best to constrain Remus’ bludgeoning strikes.

Logan demanded that the siblings cease their senseless fighting, all the while… 

Deceit was making his way over to Patton, ready to release his rage.

Chaos was ensuing within the Creation Castle’s walls, shaking the very foundation of the exquisite fortress. But without notice, another force, significantly more unpredictable, had reached it’s turning point. 

A peculiar sound was taking shape, a clatter resonating from the literal world, seeping its way into the figurative one.

With a loud honking and skidding noise similar to that of car tires, all of the six Sides residing in the bruised ballroom paused their actions and fell to the floor with a sudden _thump_. The cool, summer air breezed by the unconscious bodies from the still opened window within the ballroom. Everything was still and quiet. For once, in a very long time, the Mind Palace was peaceful.

The _game_ was now in motion and the players were finally chosen…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation for Roman's words:  
> Dios mios - My God.  
> Mi Estrella - My star.
> 
> Again, I don't fully know how accurate this is! If anything is wrong, let me know.


	3. A Swapping Dilemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their sudden nap time, the Sides awake and find themselves having a change in perspectives...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS:  
> There is a brief mention (like a paragraph) of gore!  
> Mention of panic attacks!  
> Heavy descriptions! (I'm sorry. I like detail)
> 
> Ahaha! We at the swapping part, readers! Have fun reading how these chaotic idiots react~  
> From now on, I'm going to try and post chapter(s) every month. Mostly one or two. I may be slow, but I intend to finish this!
> 
> Also, a friend of mine is doing something similar with the whole "swapping personalities" deal-io! I believe it's called "Changed like the hands on a clock" by Redwolf1768. They're a LOT more heavy with angst then me, but if you're interested, I suggest checking it out!

_ “Of course I know that!” _ A familiar echo bounced it’s waves of nostalgia across the unconscious man’s mind.  _ “But they’re different- They aren’t like what we thought they were… Wha-what?... No I-... That’s not what I… Really? So is that what you want? FINE! Whatever! I’ll leave then-” _

“WAIT, DON’T GO!” With a sudden jolt, Deceit reached out to a forgotten soul as he sat, awoken from his comatose state. The unnerved snake was caught off guard by that one-sided argument. He hadn’t relieved that  _ intrusive _ memory in a long while… But, Deceit had plenty of other things to be astounded by.

“O-Oh geez! What’s wrong? You’re not hurt, are you, Dee Dee?” Deceit leaned back as a  _ very _ concerned Remus looked him over for injuries… At least, he assumed  _ this  _ was Remus?

Just from a glance, something was obviously… off.

The Duke’s once crazed, neon green eyes were now… light blue and shimmery? Instead of a long, white strand of hair running down his bangs, they were now mere tips. And because of his close concern, the snake was even able to see…  _ freckles _ adorning Remus’ face right between his still extremely odd, bubbly eyes. But, the part that made the lying Side hesitate in his response was… the mustache. Sweet imagination Gods, it’s as if this poor soul was interrupted mid-shave, leaving it split down an uneven middle.

For a short second, Deceit thought he hadn’t fully woken up from their sudden naptime, but after his quick look over, this was _definitely_ his unicorn porn loving friend. He may have looked _and_ acted… different, but he sounded the same. I mean, it could be possible that so _me skinwalker replaced his dear lackey while they were asleep. It probably dragged The Duke’s unconscious body away, ripping his flesh off bit by bit, leaving his raw, half broken bones and trails of veins scattered near the predators den. Maybe it even cut through his vocal chords, tearing open his rib cage, breaking down his_ -

Wait… 

What?

“From what I can see, you look alright… Few! For a minute I thought-” After Remus’ careful examination, Deceit clenched forwards, gripping the temples upon his head in irritation from his new,  _ darker _ thoughts. “Gah! D-Dee, what’s wrong?”

“C-Can’t… t-think straight…” The snake was shaking through hitching breaths.

“Hey, hey. Deep breaths, bud. Deep-” 

With a forced tug, the distrained Deceit was hanged upwards by his collar and brought up to eye level with a very pissed off… Roman?

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS DO TO US?!” The presumed Roman gripped tighter on the snake’s cloaked collar.

“Roman, wait, we didn’t-” Remus pleaded, pressing a gentle hand down upon the still lifted snake’s shoulder.

“R-Roman?” The eye-shadowed man looked perturbed at The Duke’s words. “What the hell are you talking about,  _ I’m _ Virgil.” A slight shake started producing from the end of the emo’s arm. “For the love of Zeus, why the heck are  _ you _ laughing?!”

It was only after it was pointed out that he realized what his body was doing… Deceit was snickering. To the shock of Virgil and Remus, the snake was even plastering a very strained, yet oddly  _ familiar _ , sloppy smirk.

Why  _ was _ he laughing? “I… Hehe… I-I don’t k-know- Kehehehe!” As his giggling fit continued to heighten, so did the anger within the darken man’s grip.

“Oh, I’ll give you something to laugh at you deceptive little-”

“Can the three of you cease with this nonsensical bickering?” While it was Roman’s voice echoing through the ballroom towards the three confronting Sides, his once rapturous and airy tone was now more… monotone. “Virgil. Let go of Deceit. The two of them clearly have nothing to do with our… peculiar situation.” 

With a silent huff and glare, Virgil did as Roman requested. The snake fell with a light  _ tap _ , his feet stumbling, unable to get a steady stance. The concerned Side next to him held up the hysterical man as Virgil persisted on with his accusations.

“Oh please, Princey!” Similar to a certain drama queen, the emo waved his arms out in an over the top manner. “Just a second ago, you were storming out of the room,  _ avoiding _ this slimy snake’s  _ two faced _ nature and fiercely battling it out with Remus-”

“Or you could say  _ duking _ it out with me…” The intrusive Side popped in.

“...POINT BEING, the two of them  _ obviously _ have something to do with this! They always do-”

“Not necessarily.” Roman coolly stated, his new, dark blue, dimmed eyes looking directly at Virgil’s now bright red ones. “The two of them are not  _ always _ the cause for Thomas’ complicated dilemmas. One example is when Thomas was surmounting his unfortunate  _ disbanded _ relationship. The source of his repetitive mourning was drawn back to you, myself, and Patton-”

“ _ Please _ , don’t remind me…” From the left side of the ballroom, a hunched over, cat hooded Patton spoke up groggily. He looked quite restless, especially because of the eye bags that were now  _ magically _ adorning his face.

“-Ah. My apologies. But, as I was stating, Deceit and Remus are not  _ always _ the cause for concern. And by their appearances, they were also affected by this  _ swap _ and are therefore less likely to have been the cause. Look at them, Virgil. They are just as confused as we are.”

... _ Swap?  _ ... _ Appearances? _

After the deadpan Prince ended his informative lecture, the snake finally realized the situation. Swiftly, he caressed the left side of his face, checking for his-  _ scales _ . His scales were… depleted. At least, the lower jaw line was now missing it’s reptilian skin. Though, the snake was eerily thankful to still feel his scales on the top left of his forehead, but  _ scales _ wasn’t the only thing he felt. Brushing his trembling fingertips to the upper half of his lip… he felt it. Deceit was now sporting  _ half _ of a twirly mustache on his face, same as The Duke.

The snake decided to push back the thought of his appearance for the time being, especially after he registered that almost  _ all _ of his hair was now pure  _ white _ .

“W-Wait. What do you mean by… swap?” Remus questioned, innocently bewildered.

“Come now,  _ rat _ man, read the room.” Virgil gestured around the open aired ballroom. “Haven’t you realized anything…  _ off? _ Like, oh, I don’t know, Roman NOT swiping at your head with a katana? My overconfident demeter? Patton’s distant concern? Your  _ perturbed _ smothering? Deceit’s random… spasms?”

“Do not forget about Logan’s lack of participation due to his…  _ speech _ disability.” Roman intercepted, finishing off the confident emo’s explanation. “Before the two of you awoke, we seemed to have come to a conclusion… the six of us have swapped personalities.”

“Talk about  cliché territory, like out of a fanfic…” Virge huffed.

“Hm… Fan… fic?” Roman pondered the emo’s statement.

“Nevermind.”

“Ah. Well, to put things short… I have switched personas with Logan and in turn he has switched with Deceit, hence his speech predicament. From the look of his appearance, Deceit has swapped with Remus and The Duke has swapped with Patton. As for the final two, Patton has changed with Virgil and Virgil has changed with me.”

Remus thought for a moment, letting his brother’s words register within his mind… “H-Huh… I guess that makes sense. I  _ was _ wondering where my  _ghoulish_ thoughts went, heh… Ah! What was that about Logan-”

“While I’d  **_Hate_ ** to join in this little soirée,” Regaining his drifting presence, a particularly  _ scaly _ nerd commented outwards to the group. “I’m completely  **_able_ ** to relay out words that  **_aren’t_ ** utter  _ lies _ .”

“Oh… Now I see.” Remus gave out an awkward and knowing laugh. He could still remember when even the big boss, Deceit, had trouble with his… lying ability.

“While I’m overjoyed we could all chit chat about just who is swapped with who,” Virgil remarked. “Let’s get down to the  _ real _ problem… WHY THE HELL ARE WE SWAPPED?!?! Shouldn’t this be, I don’t know, impossible?!”

“Well, not  _ entirely _ ,” Virgil had the typical “ _ oh, really? _ ” expression plastered on his face, waiting for the princely nerd’s response. “We are all a part of a bigger whole, in this case, the  _ whole _ being Thomas. Each of us is a separate part of that whole. So, theoretically, if  _ damage _ were to be caused to the whole, or if the whole had an impactful change in thoughts, it’s highly probable that  _ parts _ of the whole would be influenced as well-”

“Thomas… THOMAS!” A sudden shout caught the attention of the room as Patton came to a troubling discovery. “W-What if something happened to Thomas?! H-He could have gotten  _ hurt _ while we were unconscious… H-He could be i-injured somewhere, b-bleeding out in an alley, got into an argument a-and he wouldn’t have- WAIT. WHAT IF HE GOT KIDNAPPED?!?!” While running through his list of unlikely possibilities, Patton’s breath quickened with every frightening word. If the tired dad didn’t stop soon he’d… 

“Hey, hey! You’ve gotta calm down,” At first, it was a shock to everyone when Remus was the one to step forward towards the panicking man, but The Duke  _ did _ have Patton’s caring personality now, so… “Hey now, focus on me. Remember, in for four, hold for seven, out for eight… There we go!” 

Shortly, the ballroom went quiet as the four Sides watched on at Remus’ delicate handle of the trembling Patton beside him. It was an odd sight, but the others had to admit, this probably wasn’t going to be the last strange occurrence to take place today.

Roman pondered, calculating out the situation carefully. “Patton makes a valid point.”

“SO THOMAS REALLY IS HURT?!” Pat doubled back into his worrying state. The intrusive Side stared daggers down on The Prince,  _ heavily _ .

“W-While that  _ is _ a possibility, n-no, it’s highly improbable that Thomas would have gotten hurt in any capacity.” Roman gave a quick prayer, hoping his small lie would satisfy his brother’s rage. “A-Ahem, but to confirm, Logan and I will go check on Thomas. He might also hold the answer for our trade in perspectives.”

Logan made a questionable expression at the Prince’s suggestion, but nevertheless, the two of them sunk down, leaving the other four in their bizarre states. 

****** 

The silence was overwhelming.

After his brother’s little  _ slip _ , Remus had to come up with a lot more than just a breathing technique to calm Patton’s expanding doubts and he had to do it quickly! Not  _ just _ to prevent Pat from having a panic attack, but the rat man couldn’t  _ stand _ seeing the dad figure’s body tremble with such fear, his tearing eyes, his twitching lips, the sound of his minute whimpers… 

Swiftly, but with a gentle touch, Remus held close to the shaking Side’s hands. “D-Don’t worry, Patty Cakes! Bro and Lo will be back soon and I’m sure they’ll say Thomas was just A-Ok!” Words wouldn’t cut it, The Duke had to do something,  _ anything _ ! Surely, someone who was once deemed as  _ Creativity _ could think of-

Creativity…  _ Creation _ .

That’s it!

All he had to do was create one of those… those  _ calming _ blanket thingies he saw on TV that one time! Right. Simple… 

He… He couldn’t summon it.

After several tries he… he just couldn’t  _ create _ .

With some careful thought, Remus connected that it wasn’t  _ just _ their appearances and personalities that switched… they must have swapped abilities as well! And if  _ Remus _ couldn’t use his creation powers, then-

“Deceit! I think… you have my creation  _ power _ . Could you-” The Duke was about to suggest that the snake should create something, but he quickly deflected  _ that _ idea. Remus knew what that power was capable of… and he didn’t want Deceit, a newbie, to accidentally summon some prehistoric  _ monster _ to send Patton into an even  _ more _ panicked state. “Actually… sorry, wait- Virgil! You must have my brother’s ability as well! Could you summon up a trauma blanket to calm Pat-”

After letting his eyes waver off from the quivering dad figure within his grasp, the bubbly Duke found the reason for their hushed silence… 

With some effort and  _ lots _ of eye squinting, Remus came to two conclusions: 

One, he now had Patton’s  _ terrible _ vision, by the gods how did this guy see  _ anything _ without glasses? And two, from the view behind him, Remus saw it, or perhaps  _ didn’t _ see it. 

Virgil and Deceit were gone.


	4. Told You So...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Virgil and Deceit's sudden disappearance, we get to see exactly where these two risk-taking Sides went off too...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS:  
> Mention of panic attacks.  
> Also, uh, kidnapping... It's not as bad as your thinking... unless?
> 
> Honestly, this one was a fun one to write!   
> Also, Remus speaks some Spanish as well because I'm a nerd for these two bilingual Sides...

The warmth of midday’s light grazed the many trees surrounding the Inspiring Woods. The sweet song birds chirped on with their airy tune. Floral and fauna seemed to enchant the dim light hidden between the dense trees, making this a picture perfect forest scene fit for a prince.

Two figures could be seen making their way through this fanciful, early waking tread… 

“I KNEW SOMETHING  _ BAD _ WAS GONNA HAPPEN!!” A shout interrupted the tranquility of this wondrous setting. “But, does anybody listen? No! Let’s all just  _ ignore _ the only Side with a  _ brain cell _ here!”

“Ha! Pfft, haah!” Virgil glared over his shoulder at his giggly follower. “And here… heh… I thought you were livin’ in  _ paradise _ over there! Ahaha… But I guess those  _ Light Sides _ don’t give a rat’s ass ‘bout you! HA!” Deceit shifted his wavering weight onto the tree’s bark, giving himself a chance to catch his breath.

Clicking his tongue, the steaming emo ceased his stomping march. Instead, Virgil slowly lifted his head upwards, almost as if he was… listening to something? Turning sharply through the dense trees, the red eyed Side made his way down a small slope leading to… a pond. 

The former snake followed in toe with his estranged companion.

“H-How… the hell did you know there was a lake here?” Deceit sat abruptly near the water's edge. “Those damn trees are  _ way _ to _ thicc _ ... Thick with  _ two _ C’s-” 

“YEAH I GOT IT… The birds… told me.” Bending down with a grace only Roman could pull off, Virgil gently cupped the crystal clear water below, letting it envelope his face.

“B-Birds…? Wait… wha- The actual  _ fuck _ are you doing?”

“Rinsing my face. Would’ve thought  _ that _ was obvious, half-shaved.” Deceit gave a low, but soft growl at that ending comment, never letting his smile fade. Finished with his wash, Virgil wiped away the extra water with his patched up sleeve, revealing his squeaky clean, eyeshadow-less, face. “The whole dark and emo look was starting to make my side  _ itch _ . It was like my brain was screaming at me to get it off… It’s against my character, yes, but  _ clearly _ I’m not exactly in a normal state of mind anymore.”

Virgil took his place a few feet away from the grinning man.

“Anyways, I think Roman had some kind of ‘Princely connection’ to birds, and I’m also guessing he has that bond with  _ every _ creation he made… Well,  _ had _ . Apparently, I’ve got that now.”

Deceit thought it was nothing at first, but it was true, various blue and yellow birds had been following them and were  _ still _ gently flying around Virgil’s vicinity.

“Now that you’re done getting yourself  _ wet _ , what should we do now? We lost  _ tall _ ,  _ dark and oh so handsome _ ~” Virge thought back after hearing Deceit’s words, the whole  _ reason _ they left the ballroom in the first place was to find that dark figure they spotted running away from their confused predicament. Virgil was quick to take action after sighting the figure, afterall, that mysterious person could have been the one responsible for the Sides swapping dilemma… Like they say, criminals always return to the scene of the crime.

But now that the two were here… rushing head first into things might have been a mistake.

“Tch. I had that guy in my  _ sights _ ! How did I lose him?!”

_ Rustle…  _

“Hehe… Nice going Mr. Only-One-With-a-Brain-Cell! Ha! Thought you were in charge of  _ pro _ TECT _ ing _ everyone, right? Little  _ Arachnid _ -”

_ Shift…  _

“DON’T YOU  _ DARE _ CALL ME THAT, YOU DECEPTIVE PIECE OF-”

_ CRUNCH! _

The two flaming Sides stopped dead in their argumentative tracks.

They weren’t alone. Had they always been?

“...Did you hear-” It was quick, like pressing the “Escape” button on a keyboard, one minute the two men were wide awake, the next, complete darkness. Once again, the two men unconscious bodies slumped down on the prickly grass as  _ two _ mysterious figures finally revealed themselves in broad daylight… 

******

This was fine.

Everything was completely fine and  _ totally _ not spiraling out of control!

...Well, not yet, anyways.

Remus continued making his way through the many trees that now surrounded them. He gave the trembling Side next to him a comforting squeeze on the hand, “Hey, Patty Cakes, how ya holdin’ up?”

He was hesitant to give a response at first, keeping his eyes pinned to the grass below.

“... **I’m fine** -” Patton quickly covered his mouth with his free hand, trying to hold back his deep, almost monster-esque, voice from coming out again.

Right. So, not good then.

Remus still remembers that sharp tone all too well. All those late night awakenings and small comfort circles left him more and more  _ concerned _ .

Every trembling limb. 

Every hushed, sob filled, whimper… 

And of course, the screaming- 

He also knew what that voice meant. Patton was going into a state of pure, utter,  _ panic _ .

Something had to be done… But what?

Wrapping his arms around the smaller one, Remus held Patton in yet another embrace, “Shush. Remember, deep breaths…” The small Side flinched at the contact, avoiding the taller one’s direct gaze. 

Strange… 

Even with the weird eye shun, Patton didn’t turn away the hug.

Ugh. If only two certain  _ Sides _ didn’t go off on their own little treasure hunt! Remus knew Virgil and Deceit were swapped or something, but did they  _ have _ to be switched with the two most  _ reckless _ Sides?! He may not have acted like it, but The Duke was actually quite self aware, thank you. He knew exactly what he was doing back then and just how annoying it most likely was… he just, well, didn’t have much self-restraint. 

But hey! Give him  _ some _ credit! Remus took pride in how well he was at holding himself back around the others, even Dee Dee. I mean, having like, what?  _ Ten thousand _ voices screaming in your head was an impressive feat to contain- 

Oh heavenly Lord… Deceit had his power now- his  _ thoughts _ … 

_ We’ve gotta find those two impulsive kiddos soon, or else _ … 

But how? How were two Sides alone possibly going to find the swapped Royals in The  _ Mindscape _ ! The place was like a flea market! Way too big with  _ way _ too many things to look at. Sometimes, Thomas had too many ideas for the man’s own good… 

Patton and him had only  _ hoped _ and  _ prayed _ the other two were heading towards The Witch’s Den. It was the closest thing next to Creation Castle and Remus knew the Inspiring Woods like the back of his hand! Besides, maybe the Dragon Witches could help spread some light on their odd situation? Out of all of Roman and his creations…  _ they _ were always the most…  _ free willed _ -

Remus stiffened his muscles. Had the former dad-like Side’s breathing always been this  _ harsh _ ?

Uhhh, distraction time!

_ It worked well with Virgil when he was… still with us… _

The Duke held back that small sniffle that threatened to escape. No time to feel nostalgic! Darn Patton’s weird automatic flash-backs! 

_ Dios mios… Think, Dukie! Think! _

“ **Like I** -” The brown eyed Side took a final breath out, “ **S** - **Sa** id. I’m  _ fine _ , Remus. We’ve… gotta keep moving, anyways. Who knows where Virge and Deceit went? They might not even  _ be _ with the Dragon Witches! They could’ve gotten lost in the woods, tripped on some twigs, scraped a knee, or w-worse… They c-could’ve fell down a cliff and- and-” He pushed the other away.

“No!  **I’m** …  **f** ine. We just have to keep… moving?” The shaking Side finally took a glance upwards towards his companion. The tall man had a broad smile on his face along with a few other new features. Wait. Had he… changed  _ clothes _ ? “Wh- wha…?”

“Eh? What’cha think? Pretty  _ snazzy _ , right?” Remus had both his hands suddenly latched to his hips, posing for the father figure. The Duke’s black and lime green attire had completely vanished and in its place was something much more… decent. 

A short sleeve, forest green sweater hung listlessly upon his broad shoulders. A small pattern lined the chest of the earthy sweater. Underneath was a long sleeved, pale green, button down. His sleeves were thoughtfully tucked up nicely below his elbows. How quaint! Lastly, his bottoms weren’t too dazzling or overly…  _ tight _ as before, now they were only lightly tan khaki shorts. And of course, the ever-so fatherly staple… Sandals with socks.

“Uh… W-Why did you…?” Patton couldn’t help the stutter. He was genuinely… confused. Yet oddly enough, the anxious man felt a wave of comfort wash over him at the sight of the former intrusive Side.

“Oh! Well, you seemed a little…  _ tense _ with me before. You probably didn’t notice- which is totally fine! But you, uh, kept avoiding eye contact with me. Sooo, I thought a wardrobe change would be a good distraction- I MEAN IDEA! A GOOD… Ahem, idea. You should try it! Honestly, my outfit was kind’ve bothering me… Weird. Guess it comes with the whole ‘swap’ dealio, huh?” Remus smiled warmly at the other, waiting expectantly.

His much more “dad” looking companion had a point, ever since they started their little scavenger hunt of missing Sides, Patton has had the biggest…  _ itch _ . His normal blue polo and cat hoodie weren’t cutting it.

“...OH! ¡Espere! ¡Lo siento! You don’t  _ have _ to change if you don’t  _ want _ to! It’s completely up… to… you.” The Duke's eyes widened as the small Side seemed to have undergone his clothes change as well… but they soon started to narrow. Ah. Being only able to see wobbly  _ shapes _ wasn’t exactly  _ ideal _ .

“A-Ah. Maybe  _ these _ will be of more use to you than they are for me.” Patton proceeded to remove something off his face and- Aha! Sweet sugary delight, he wasn’t  _ blind _ anymore!

Remus started to observe their surroundings, well, until his baby blue eyes rested upon his travel partner. Oh.  _ OH. _ It was like looking at a Virgil made doppelganger.

An overly-sized jacket covered the newly improved  _ emo _ dad. The base was pitch black while the sleeves and hood were navy blue. Within, a phased out, blue shirt was hanging slightly.  _ Really into the whole “baggy” look, ey, Pat? _ As for bottoms, yep! This individual was  _ definitely _ switched with Virgil, of all people. Below, ripped up jeans, a deep black of course, clung very closely to the small man’s legs. 

And to “top” it all off, Patton hid his jaded and sleep deprived eyes behind, not only his new bangs, but also his brand spanking new grey beanie.

“You look…” Patton clenched, “... _ Edge _ -tacular!”

“...Really?”

“Yeah, I reached for that one, didn’t I?” A short silence fell before the two men burst out with snickers and giggles galore! In between their laughing fits, small, seemingly unnoticed, glances were stolen towards the other.

For the first time in his existence, Remus felt something new in his heart. It was definitely a  _ good _ feeling, he just couldn’t quite place it… 

Not ecstatic.

He certainly wasn’t beaming.

Nor did he feel cheerful… 

No. In this exact moment, Remus Sanders was  _ content _ .

It was as if a blissful peace had surrounded his very soul, hugging it tightly, refusing to let go. And in all honesty… he didn’t want it too. 

“So… Should we…?” Patton stepped forward.

“Yeah… YEAH. Uh, ¡si! We should, look for, missing… Sides- YEP!” The two continued back on their tread, this time being accompanied by a pleasant air between them. Well,  _ somewhat _ , pleasant.

“...hy.” Patton mumbled.

“Hm? What was that, Patty Cakes?”

“Why,” Remus’ walking faltered slightly. “Why are you being so  _ nice _ to me?”

_ Ah. _ “W-What do you mean?” The Duke continued to happily smile.

“You  _ know _ what I mean. For the last  _ decade _ , hell, maybe our whole  _ lives _ , you’ve  _ never _ been nice to me!” Mr. Khaki himself staggered…  _ Never _ was a strong word. Sure, Remus wasn’t the  _ best _ person around the others, yeah, he’d admit that but…  _ never _ ? Had he  _ never _ been  _ nice _ to Patton? And if so, why  _ was _ he being “nice” now?

...And did Patton, sweet, innocent Pat, just… swear?!

“Well, to be fair, I’m not exactly ‘nice’ to any of you- Not that I don’t  _ want _ to be! I just-” The emo dad put a hand upwards.

“No, no. I get that you’re  _ intrusive thoughts _ ,” This time, Remus clenched. “But… I don’t know, it felt like you were  _ targeting _ me or something- Nevermind. It was probably just me. Sorry, that was stupid-”

“Hey, now. It wasn’t stupid. I… get it. Just so you know, I wasn’t ‘targeting’ you at all! ¡Lo juro! I- That- That’s just… How I was  _ made _ … And as for the ‘being nice’ now, I guess it’s ‘cause of this swap dilemma. I mean, I did switch with  _ your _ personality, so of course I’d be extra sweet!”

Patton gave the taller one an… odd look. “Right. Yeah, ‘course. I should’ve thought of that first before asking you- Wait. What the-!” 

Remus followed the shorter ones gaze and- Huh?

A small, yet peaceful building was sitting at the bottom of the hill the two had just reached. 

This… This wasn’t The Witch’s Den.

Finally having ample equipment, Remus looked towards the quaint shack below… 

_ Antiques… for the Heart? _

“P-Pat! I think we’re at your side of The Mindscape! How though…? We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere- Pat? Patton? Patty Cakes, what’s wrong?!” The emo father stood stock still. A deathly frown enveloping his face as his eyebrows continued to rise.

“He was right.” The dad-like emo was looking straight ahead, completely fixated on the ghastly sight that now stood before him.

“What? Who?! Patton, what are you-” Remus kept stuttering his words, trying to catch the tear stained Side’s attention.

“Virgil… was right.”

******

The red eyed individual shifted in his  _ uncomfortable _ position inside of the rather  _ small _ cage. “For the love of Poseidon’s trident, move your goddamn  _ legs _ , reptile!” Virgil pressed himself further to the back of their tiny confinement.

“Aw, what is it,  _ Virgie _ ? Surely you’re not  _ uncomfortable _ ? I mean, we used to be  _ this _ close  _ ALL  _ the time! Sometimes, even  _ closer _ \- OW!” With a sharp jab of a foot, the snickering, half-shaved man was pushed to the other side of the cage.

_ Disgusting. Utterly revolting! Lord, tell me, what did I do to deserve this? ...Those times in highschool don’t count, okay? I’m anxiety, it’s my job!! _ Virgil inwardly cursed to the heavens.

“Oi! No fighting you two! Save it for when we get back!” A fluffy and flouncy dressed, tiny girl chirped to the bickering men. 

Virgil was still pondering how such a petite girl was able to knock two  _ grown _ men out cold… Well, the girl wasn’t alone in her venture, but still.

Another girl pulling the rolling cage the two Sides had unfortunately been  _ captured _ in looked identical to their other captor, who was gracefully skipping along the path, with a few obvious differences. The skipping, fancy one was a natural blonde while her “sister”, as she called her, had inky black hair. The blonde’s hair was long and flowed while the other’s was short and stiff. One had a bouncy and perfectly pink dress while the one pulling sported a frilly, sickly green blouse and skirt. 

The blonde had pink eyes.

The inky one had lime green.

But the one thing that made them alike, other than their identical bodies, was their color matching  _ tails _ , little  _ wings _ , and pointy  _ hats _ . 

These twin girls… were Dragon Witches.

“Do you really think this is okay?” The lime green one spoke softly to her partner in crime. “Usually the  _ Royals _ put up more of a fight. Isn’t this  _ too _ easy?”

“Pfft, nah.” The pink chimed in. “The  _ rules _ clearly state that sneak attacks are totally legal or whatever! Besides, Mother is gonna be totes happy we managed to capture The Prince and Duke!!” The small lady beamed with excitement, putting a spring in her step as they walked towards their home. Her sister followed in tow, albeit, more subtly.

Hold on…  _ The Prince and Duke? _

“Hold the gleaming white horses, we  _ aren’t _ Roman and Remus!” Virgil shouted to their two tiny captors. 

The twins gave each other a confused look, but it soon turned into a mischievous, child-like  _ sneer _ . “Riiiiight. We  _ totes _ believe you!” Creeply, the two sang out in perfect unison.

“Not! Just ‘cause we’re new, doesn’t mean we’re  _ dumb _ !” Pink sung.

“Yeah! We’d recognize our creators' aura  _ anywhere _ !” Lime green hummed.

Creators’... aura? 

Was  _ that _ what they had swapped with each other? Their… auras?

“Really! I’m Vir-” Virgil huffed out to the young girls, but to no avail.

“Yadda, yadda, save it  _ Princy _ ! Besides, we’re almost to the Den! Mother’s gonna be overjoyed!!” Again, the pink one skipped in her walk as the green one slowly followed.

The two caged men had to do something about this large pickle they’ve gotten themselves into, and soon! Because out of all their disagreements, Virgil and Deceit had to admit, this whole “Mother” character sounded fairly important… 

And they sure as  _ hell _ didn’t want to meet her!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation for Remus' words:  
> Dios mios - My God.  
> ¡Espere! - Wait!  
> ¡Lo siento! - Sorry!  
> ¡si! - Yes!  
> ¡Lo juro! - I swear!
> 
> Am I shipping Patton and Remus in this particular fanfic?  
> ...Maybe.  
> Well I mean, the tags spoil it but like-  
> While writing out the relationships for this fanfic, I was very intrigued by the idea of these two being together. An odd paring, yes, but not an impossible one! So here I am... writing fluff about it.


	5. Witch Hunt, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After arriving at The Dragon Witches lair, Virgil and Deceit finally meet the famous "Mother", the apparent leader of the witches. After much discussion, past questions get answered while new ones start to arise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie! You know, I was planning on doing this chapter in one go... but my brain had other ideas, I guess. The length was getting waaay to long for my liking, so I'm gonna split this bad-boy up a bit!
> 
> Part two is going to be... interesting.

_ Clunk! _

“Careful there, sis! We don’t want our precious  _ cargo _ gettin’ all bruised before the  _ real _ fun begins!” The petite blonde cheerfully chirped, skipping her way through the long hallway within The Witch’s Den. 

“Ah! R-Right!” The dear sister nodded, tugging the large, rolling cage behind her as she sped up to match the blonde one’s pace. 

“Hehe…” A low whistle echoed through the doomy hall. “You know, I had a looot of different thoughts on what  _ The Witch’s Den  _ would look like! A dark and secluded area in the woods… A humble shack in the middle of a swamp full of bubbling cauldrons… Who’da thunk it looked like a decked out manor from a person’s fantasy of sadistic vampires and addiction to erotic storybooks!” Deceit chuckled to himself.

“Ugh. Honestly, I’m astounded by how someone like  _ you _ is able to make such a crude and deplorably  _ lewd _ statement with such a wide grin,” Virgil continued to distance himself from his smiling partner within their eerily small cage. “Oh, wait. I’m  _ not _ … Hold on a second, you talk as though you’ve never even  _ seen _ The Witch’s Den. That trash goblin of a  _ Duke _ must have taken you?”

“Oh ho! Why the sudden  _ interest _ ~” Another shiver from the red eyed emo shook their tiny confinement. “Heh. But to answer your question, nope! The ol’ Dukie never took me along for a visit. Just kept goin’ on about the utter  _ horror _ and  _ danger _ I could be put in if I went… Also, something about a sibling thing, but I’ve got no idea what-”

“DANGER AND HORROR?!?!”

“...No, silly.  _ Horror _ and  _ danger _ . There’s obviously a difference-”

“The order of it is the  _ least _ of my concerns right now, Tom Fibble!” Frantically, but with surprising focus, Virgil started to look closely at their surroundings. 

An exit. There  _ must _ be a way out of this cage somehow!

“Come on, you imprudent reptile! Get off your intrusive high horse and help me look for-”

“Psh. Should’ve thought about that when we were still in the forest, Little Arachnid. Plus, there’s no point in looking  _ now _ .” The half-shaved man held a hand up, pointing straight ahead beyond their tiny cage. Virgil, tentatively, turned his head.

Red eyes met… gold.

Shifting her legs, the woman sitting atop the glowing obsidian throne glared her two golden eyes down upon the swapped Sides that sat pitifully in their imprisonment.

“Hm? What an unexpected event to occur… Tell me, Glinda, Elphaba, what have you there?” The woman’s once defensive glare abruptly changed to a much more soft,  _ mother _ -like gaze.

“OH, OH, Mother! You won’t  _ believe _ what me and Elphy did today!” Glinda, the pink little lady, happily sang. 

Yeah, Virgil didn’t need an excited child’s squeal to tell him that  _ this _ was the famed  _ Mother _ they’ve heard so much about. From her gigantic, torn wings and obvious combat induced scars to her elegant posture and golden robes, this woman was truly a force to be reckoned with… 

Having pure delight in her eyes, Glinda stared at her inky sister. With a quick nod, the two twins got in their… positions? 

“The two of us…” The sisters both began. “CAPTURED THE ROYALS!!!”

With a child-like adorableness, the two small ladies opened their arms at full length, “showing off” their two prisoners for dear old mother to see… while also performing the ill-famous action of  _ jazz hands _ . 

In a different and less  _ cramped _ setting, Virgil would have thought these two sweet girls were down right lovable, but the whole kidnapping situation didn’t exactly brighten his image about them… On the other hand, Deceit looked absolutely ecstatic.

“Hehehe, ha! By the Cracken’s unholy crack, you two really _must_ be new if ya still believe _we’re_ Roro and Ree! Pff, haha! Though… I guess you could say Virgie here _does_ have Roman’s uptight facade… and the same up _tight_ _ass_ -” Matching the speed of light, Virgil swiftly shoved both his hands over Deceit’s mouth, praying these two _children_ didn’t catch wind of the reptiles… lewd comment. 

“We told you,”  _ Oh thank God they didn’t _ , Virgil mentally sighed. “Just ‘cause we’re new doesn’t mean-!” The tiny twins ceased in their retort and looked up towards their now  _ chuckling _ mother.

“My, my, my… Hehe, ahem. I am sorry to say, my young kin, but these two men are in fact  _ not _ our creators.” Once spoken, the two girls instantly fell into shock, fully believing in what the elder one had said.

_Oh, so you believe her and not the ones you captured-_ _AW, FUCK! DID HE JUST LICK MY HAND?!_ The red eyed man huffed with a slight hint of disgust while looking on at his sly, cat faced companion with pure revulsion.

“B-But!! They have their… auras.” The twins mumbled in defeat.

“Hmm… Indeed, they  _ do _ seem to possess our Prince and Duke’s auras…” The refined mother dragon looked directly at the two men, and yet at the same time, her gaze seemed… far away. Eyes contemplating otherworldly factors unseen to their present situation. 

“...Nevertheless,” The Dragon Witch’s eyes focused once again. “Release these poor Sides from their problematic predicament, my young kin. After all, they are our guests! And as such, they must be treated with a… Dragon Witch’s  _ hospitality _ .”

After hearing their mother’s words, the once dejected twin’s surprisingly perked up. Their girlish giggling soon turning into a spine tingling snicker.

“Of course, dear Mother!” With an instant clink and snap, the two men were finally free from their claustrophobic cage.

“My apologies,” The golden woman started. “You must have had quite the shock,  _ Virgil _ and…  _ Deceit _ . But try to understand, my young kin were only following procedure. It just so happens that with your current… circumstances, they confused you two for our treasured creators.”

This woman may have been smiling, but her menacing eyes were telling a whole different story. The two Sides could feel it, all the way down to their bones, if they weren’t careful with their words… turning back to normal would be the least of their problems.

They were on thin ice now.

“No apology needed, your elegance,” Thinking quick on his feat, Virgil, like a well trained knight, bowed respectfully to the Dragon mother. “Now that we are here, though, I humbly request your aid, fair Dragon Witch. In particular, if I could be granted permission to ask you a few…  _ questions _ .” 

The golden woman outwardly laughed this time around. Quite the amused one, this older woman was… 

“Please, please! I will happily answer any questions the two of you might have. But  _ I _ must also request that you cease with such formality. I grant you ‘ _ permission _ ’ to call me by my given name, Ophelia.”

“Of course… Madame Ophelia,” Even with her otherwise  _ intimidating _ aura, Virgil somehow felt a sort of calm wash over him after hearing Ophelia speak. Her authoritative tone enrapturing the very core of his soul. How odd and yet, vaguely familiar… “The question I have for you, Miss Ophelia, is quite simple yet incredibly hard to explain-”

“The fuck are we swapped for?” Deceit chimed in ever so helpfully. One could almost hear the  _ blood vessels _ pop from Virgil’s steaming rage.

“Y-Yes. In a…  _ demented _ mans way, we were wondering if you had any ideas on why the six of us Sides are all swapped?”  _ And if you’re the cause of it…  _

From her throne, the Dragon Witch seemed truly taken aback.

“... _ All _ of sweet Thomas’ Sides are… swapped?” Virgil nodded. Again, Ophelia’s eyes stood still, wandering for a bit… Until her sly and commanding demeanor made its appearance again. “My apologies, young one, but I haven’t a clue onto why the six of you have been swapped in such a way! And I can assure you,  _ we _ had nothing to do with it as well.”

Virgil flinched.

The witch smiled.

“You see, we are only figurative creations conjured by the brilliant minds of our creators, Roman and Remus.  _ We _ do not possess the power to alter the souls of you Sides. We may be able to ‘damage’ your skin and play our little tricks on you, but we can never truly change the soul of a Side… Only dear Thomas, or even you yourself, can manage such a feat…”

The two men were a little amazed. This  _ Ophelia _ was surprisingly knowledgeable on the Sides… How long has this Dragon Witch  _ mother _ been around for?

“...If what you say is true,” Deceit joined in, his eyes drifting to the small twins. “Why were the two  _ peeping Toms _ spying on us through the ballroom window at the castle?”

The little ladies perked up after seeing their mother’s expecting gaze.

“Um, Y-Yeah… I guess we  _ were _ near the big castle… I think,” Glinda put out her small hand to her mouth, confused by the swapped man’s question. “If ya did see us, then we were just scouting out the  _ perfect _ way to take you down!”

There was a dense disconnection in the air. They were all there and yet, each one was on a different page… 

“Well then, if that was all your queries, I must ask you,” Ophelia chuckled. “Well, more of an  _ explanation _ than an ask.”

The two Sides stiffened.

That once peculiar air swiftly turned into something much more  _ sinister _ … Especially when they heard the sound of  _ locking _ .

“To be frank, the two of you will now have the  _ honor _ of participating in an old Dragon Witch custom,” Beside her, the little twins only smiled while their mother continued her speech. “A tradition that has held its own over the years. I mean, the two of you  _ were _ captured by my young kin, it would be quite a shame for their efforts to go to waste!”

Even while smirking, Deceit could feel his knees growing weak from the pure  _ force _ of Ophelia’s presence. Glancing over to Virgil, he knew the little spider felt it too. A cold sweat was making its way down both the Sides spines, leaving behind nothing but genuine  _ panic _ . 

While their bodies ordered to  _ run away _ , their hearts screamed  _ play possum _ .

“W-What tradition-” Deceit stammered.

“Why, The Hunt, of course!” The twins held each other's hands tightly while gleefully spinning in a circle together.

“Hmm… Do not fret, young Sides,” Again, Ophelia shifted her long legs. “I will explain your task and roles in this quaint custom of ours! We shall skip over the  _ extended _ rules since the two of you are already within The Witch’s Den…”

“To begin, you Sides are prohibited from leaving the manors grounds, though, nothing says you cannot try your hand at  _ escaping _ if the opportunity arises,” Another echoed sound of locking could be heard from far away. “But, I can assure you, we  _ will _ make it difficult.” 

“And finally, you are most likely wondering how might you  _ survive _ this ‘hunt’? Us Dragon Witches are not  _ barbaric _ , believe you me. There  _ is _ a way to  _ win _ The Hunt. Quite simple, really… All you have to do is solve our  _ riddle _ .”

“...T-That’s it? Seriously?” Deceit could feel his grin twitch at the  _ duck soup _ of a task. A riddle? Really? Something so asininely  _ easy _ , even Roman and Remus must have-

“ _ Oh _ , and another thing to mention, both our creators have  _ yet _ to solve it. And regrettably, it has been  _ years _ since the riddle's first announcement…”

...Roman and Remus. The  _ Prince _ and  _ Duke _ have  _ yet _ to solve the Dragon Witches riddle? 

More importantly, how many  _ years _ ..?

Ophelia rested her cheek within her hand, looking much to satisfied by Virgil and Deceit’s deflating stature.

“Like I said, do not fret. When it comes down to it, this task is  _ truly _ a simple one. Now, listen close…” The queen straightened up then, staring both men dead in the eye. “The riddle goes as followed,”

_ Matching thy colors, seek out the statues clutter…  _

_ Placement is key within this endeavor, but to solve the riddle you must consider procedure…  _

_ Only when seen through another’s heart, the severed door will finally be unlocked…  _

“Wow… That was vague as  _ shit _ .” Deceit irritably mumbled.

“Well, it  _ is _ a riddle, tiny man.” Virgil muttered.

“TINY MAN-”

“Now, now, young Sides, you know your task, off you go!” The golden women made a small “shooing” motion with her hands towards the two men. “Hmmm~ What an unexpected yet welcoming event to occur… I feel as though a solace is warming up my weary body… And to think, I’ve been having the most  _ oddest _ feeling the last few months…”

An electric current of realization passed through Virgil after Ophelia’s comment.

“Wait… Did you just say an odd feel-?!”

“Hm. But never mind that…” The dear mother raised up a single hand. “ _ You’ve _ got bigger fish to fry… for now.” 

_ Ding! Bing! Bong! Ding! _

The sound of clashing church bells could be heard enrapturing the large manor, filling every nook and cranny with its noise.

One minute, the three Dragon Witches were there, the next? Queen Ophelia and the two little ladies had vanished, disappearing along with a strange, black fog… 

The Hunt has officially  _ begun _ .


	6. Witch Hunt, Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Hunt begins, Virgil and Deceit face off against The Dragon Witches in hopes of escaping their pain giving and heart thumping tradition...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS:  
> Lots of fighting scenes... (Wait. Should this be a warning? ...Eh.)  
> Honestly, just a lot more of lewd comments than I thought...
> 
> Holy- this is the longest chapter, how the hell did I manage that??? AND IT'S SUPPOSE TO BE A PART 2?? ...I am so sorry.  
> But seriously, this took a while... I had a bit of trouble with this one. Fighting scenes are not my forte. Hopefully you'll find some amusement in it anyways!

_ Kick--Slide. _

_ Punch--Duck. _

_ Kick--Slide. _

_ Miss--Run…  _

_ Hide. _

Heavy breathes and whispered curses could be heard behind the large, stone pillar within the ivory filled courtyard.

“What… The actual  _ fuck _ ,” Virgil softly heaved while clutching his bruised stomach tightly. “By the creation Gods,  _ how _ are two little girls  _ this _ powerful?! What? Was Roman thinking  _ powerhouses _ instead of  _ innocent flowers _ when he created these two?!”

Deceit continued on with his snickering in between wincing twitches. 

The former snake gripped his left calf, trying to counteract the pain shooting up his leg. For such a cheerful thing, that  _ Glinda _ could get downright  _ feisty _ when she got serious… 

“So, Virgie… Tch… You think they’re still after us? Heh…”

“Oh prisoners!!” A high pitched Glinda screeched. “Oh where, oh where have ya gone too??”

“Yeah, I’d say the two  _ chihuahuas _ still have our scent.” Quickly but quietly, the two men shuffled their way through the shadows, hugging their bodies to the wall as they seemingly escaped the twins wrath…

******

A long, windowed hallway greeted the two escapees as they shakily opened the largely crafted door. 

“Haha!” The cloaked snake whistled low. “Those kids can really pack a punch! Or kick…” Another pained wine… “Keh, makes me wonder how many times those little  _ dragons _ were the cause for Remus stumbling home bloodied and bruised! Oh, what I would give to witness  _ that _ fight-”

“Y-Yes… They do put the  _ dragon _ in Dragon… W-Witch-” After a few quivering steps, Virgil’s body finally gave way as the man slumped forward to the marbled tile.

“...V-Virgie!” Deceit lunged towards Virgil, steadying him before his body had a chance to hit the floor. “Are you-”

_ SMACK! _

Deceit stood still like a deer in headlights after the sudden… slap. Ignoring his title, he honestly didn’t expect the sudden retaliation from his tall companion. For a moment, he truly was bewildered… 

_ "FINE! Whatever! I’ll leave then-” _

But like clockwork, the green eyed man remembered, this kind of hostility was just another everyday occurrence. 

Routine, even.

“I- I’m fine,” Virgil shot up, shaking off the pain he once felt. However, he failed in hiding that obvious tremble… Whether the cause was from his injury or the sudden contact, who’s to say? “They’re just mere  _ bruises _ … It’ll pass soon, anyway. We… need to keep moving.”

“...Right.” And so, Deceit could now check off another awkward silence and stellar conversation for the scrapbooks. 

It wasn’t as though this was new.

It’s routine. Just another thing to expect by being a  _ Dark _ Side.

Another hurdle to jump over.

Another punch to avoid.

Another unbelievable explanation to give up on.

Another… loud  _ sobbing _ ?

“...Aw, if your bruise is hurting you enough to make you cry, dear Arachnid, I could  _ always _ give a  _ hand _ to help-”

“That isn’t me.” Virgil was looking straight ahead, towards the crying wails beyond the wide hallway.

The two men took wary glances towards the other… They were starting to regret being swapped with such _ self-righteous  _ and  _ curious  _ Sides.

Not wasting even a second, Virgil and Deceit headed straight down the hall to the west wing of the manor… towards the echo of murmuring sobs.

******

“Any luck?” The red eyed man asked, shutting another sob-less door behind him.

“Empty like a gutted pig on Christmas morning,” The two continued down the door filled hallway. “Why the hell are we heading  _ towards _ little Weeping Willow anyway? Shouldn’t we, oh, I don’t know, tuck our balls between our legs and skedaddle on outta here?”

The crying was definitely much louder in  _ this _ hall… But which door was hiding their mystery weeper?

“Did you even  _ listen _ to what that gatekeeper of a mother said? Even if we do escape, and that’s a big  _ if _ , there’s nothing stopping them from chasing us,” Virgil opened yet another door leading to… nothing. “Besides, whoever's causing this echoing cry, they could be an innocent bystander in need of help… or another Dragon Witch baiting us into her trap; either way, they might have  _ some _ knowledge on how to solve the witch's riddle.”

Deceit rolled his neon green eyes.

“ _ Riiight _ , that childish riddle… Something about statues and placement-” The former snake stopped mid-opening of a door… before quickly shutting it. “Uh… Virgil?”

Turning at his now furiously pointing companion, Virgil made the safe assumption that they had finally managed to find the source of the wails.

With a brief nod, Deceit cautiously reopened the wooden door to find, once again, their crying stranger… 

She looked young. Most likely still in her teen years.

The black turtleneck clung tightly to her small, almost frail looking frame. Her loose, brown over shirt swayed with her shoulders as they bounced along to the rhythm of her sobs.

After a bit of hesitance, Virgil spoke- or he  _ was _ about to speak… until he saw Deceit tip-toeing his way towards the girl… with a porcelain lamp raised in hand.

“what in the holy lord’s name are you doing?!” Virgil whisper-shouted.

“the fuck it look like, no-bags? i’m knockin’ the wench out!” Deceit whisper-yelled.

“we are  _ not _ bludgeoning a young girl with a  _ lamp _ you psychotic reptile!!” Quickly, Virgil reached forward to snatch away the former snake’s weapon of choice.

“oi! like you said, this could be a cliché  _ trap _ and then guess what two  _ Sides _ are gonna be bludgeoned then!!!” Deceit hunched over, hiding the small but sturdy lamp under his short frame.

The two’s little scuffle, surprisingly, went on for quite a while. Well, until they realized that the room they stood in was now quiet… The sobbing had ceased and the grey, short haired girl sat there, staring patiently with her blue eyes at the two men.

“Uh… Hello-” As the grey haired girl spoke, the two Sides clenched their muscles, ready for another round of kicks and punches.

Safe to say if these two  _ did _ manage to escape the Hunt, they were  _ definitely _ coming out of it with heavy scars, unforgettable memories, and a side of PTSD.

“WAIT, WAIT!! I-I am no threat to thee, my Lords!” The young girl reassured, her tear stained eyes drifting around the room for a brief moment before landing back on the two men. “Truly, I mean thee no harm.”

Thin, cat-like eyes pleaded with the two Sides.

Deceit had his doubts. His grip on the lamp tensed.

As for Virgil… He let The Prince’s knightly code take hold.

“...State your name.” The red eyed emo stood at his full height, trying his best to look somewhat… intimidating.

But, the girl brightened up at the Side’s kindness.

“Cassandra. I am known as Cassandra, my Lord.”

“Why… were you crying?” Slowly, both Sides anxious tension dissipated at the girl’s small stature.

“Ye see my Lords, I hath always been against this  _ barbaric _ ‘Hunt’ tradition… But my sisters insist this is the only way to help them…”

“... _ Them _ ?”

“Why, our courageous creators, of course!” It seemed as though  _ all _ of the Dragon Witches held Roman  _ and _ Remus in high regard… “The reason for my tears was, well, because of thee. Once my ears heard the ringing of the bells, I couldn’t bear the thought of another bloodied battle between my sisters and our dear creators…”

Cassandra gently lifted her small hand to wipe away the tear beginning to form in her eye… Almost like it was an acted out  _ routine _ .

“I bet our dear Mother gave thee the usual ultimatum?” The young girl reached out her delicate hand towards the Sides. “If my Lord could help me up, it would be an honor to help ye solve the wee little puzzle my kin hath given thee!”

“just ‘cause i’m swapped doesn’t mean i can’t smell the pile of  _ bullshit _ this girl is spilling,” Deceit softly warned the wavering man beside him. “ _ please _ tell me you smell it too?”

Virgil knew better than this. Deep within his body, maybe at the center of his soul, he could feel the hot buzz of red flags going up. 

Stupid… This whole scenario was just too ridiculous and much too convenient. A nice, helpful and generous  _ Dragon Witch _ ? One that Virgil and Deceit just  _ happened _ to find?

_ This is a trap…  _ He knew it was. All he has to do is take Deceit’s warning. Get out while they still can before this tear stained, trembling… young girl had a chance to… 

Huh. Did Cassandra’s large tail always have this many  _ scars _ ? Elongated lines overlapping other smaller scratches… And Virgil’s mind started to ponder what could have caused such mutilation to her  _ wings _ ? Small, bone showing limbs shivered close to her back. They looked to be torn,  _ shredded _ , almost… 

...Virgil always admired Roman’s charisma and helpful personality, he’d even go as far as saying it was down right  _ valiant _ , especially when compared to his  _ fight or flight _ knack… Now though? Virgil was starting to think he had gotten the short end of the stick when it came to Side swapping.

Stepping forward to Deceit’s utterly horrified expression, or horrified smile, Virgil cautiously reached forward towards Cassandra’s open hand.

“I must admit, young Cassandra, I didn’t expect such sudden…  _ kindness _ .” 

The Dragon Witch smirked.

“Neither did I.”

Again both Sides were surprised by how much  _ strength _ these young Dragon Witches had. From a single kick, Cassandra was able to send Virgil’s tall frame through the glass pane, across the cobblestone path and head first into the potted gladioluses.

Deceit cringed with a hint of morbid glee at the sound of cracking vases  _ and _ a certain red eyed Side’s neck.

“HAHA! Now that… that is what I call bone  _ snapping _ development! Hahaaaa… Oh shit-”

“ _ Now _ ,” The girl’s once innocent demeanor swiftly changed. She seemed more confident, more….  _ commanding _ . “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Cassandra, third creation in The Prince’s court, combat general to The Witch’s Den, and I… shall be your next and  _ final _ opponent!”

******

“I FUCKING KNEW IT!” 

Another shattered pot littered Deceit’s feet. He was starting to think using  _ fragile _ vases as shields wasn’t the best idea… 

“I have to commend thee. I am shocked at the length of which ye hath managed to evade my attacks-” Cassandra began.

“SHIT,” Deceit interrupted. “WOULD YOU CALM YOUR TITS FOR ONE SEC- AGGH!” 

“I had heard from small lady Glinda,” The witch seemed to be ignoring Deceit’s loud protests. She continued on with her barrage of thundering kicks and lightning fast punches. While the twins had strength, Cassandra had speed. “That thou hath stolen our creators auras. But, I see now that thou hath no awareness of the power ye hold!”

“BY A GORGONS ASS, COULD YOU SPEAK NORMALLY- HNG!” A swift heel kick to the chin sent the panting man next to his now groggily awake companion.

“Wha…?” Virgil attempted to stand, but instead took a sudden inhale of air. “HHNG. OH. HELL. WHAT- What happened and why does my neck feel like it went nerve first through a katana!?”

The only response Virgil got was a shove to the side and a tumble on hard concrete. 

“Short answer? I was right, the wench is a speed demon, we’re probably going to die a quick but agonizing death, oh and- YOU’RE A NAIVE DUMB ASS!” Deceit pulled a now fully aware Virgil away from the general’s deadly strikes. 

The two hurriedly weaved their way through various oddly shaped _ statues _ in this open aired garden. Once they spotted a large, iron tinted door, the Sides made a b-line straight for it. Though, they skittered to a stop after Cassandra made herself comfy at the doors frame.

“I expected more from the famed  _ Deceit _ and  _ Virgil _ ,” The frail looking girl now held what looked to be an old, rusted sword. She started swinging it, nonchalantly, in hand as she slowly sashayed towards the two men. “To be truthful, this is quite pathetic. Ye now hold our creators auras, yet thou continues to make a mockery of it by  _ running _ ? Unacceptable!”

Both Virgil and Deceit knew if they turned tail and ran now they’d only be leaving themselves wide open for little Ms. King Arthur over there to strike… But something else didn’t let them leave, either. 

_ Expected more. _

_ Pathetic. _

_ Mockery. _

Normally, yes, those insults would affect  _ any _ Side… but this was different. It was like a stabbing  _ itch _ would course through both Sides after every offending comment. Making them want to… want to… 

Want to  _ what _ ?

The flick of the wrist was all that was needed to point her rusted sword directly at the standing Sides. Before, Cassandra looked pale faced and stoic, now she held a burning rage within her thin pupils.

“Thou  _ dare _ run from a challenge? If ye now hold The Prince and Duke’s powers, prove it!” One moment he was standing by Virgil, the next, Deceit found himself within the arms of Cassandra with his face  _ awfully _ close to the  _ pointy _ end of her sword. 

“WOAH! Look, hon, I appreciate the close contact but I don’t swing that way- OKAY, OKAY, SHUTTING UP NOW!” Make that  _ incredibly _ close.

“Oh? Was I mistaken?” Cassandra grinned. Virgil stayed silent. “Perhaps not. Such a  _ weak _ ,  _ frightened _ , little  _ spider _ could never control my Prince’s elegant strength-”

He was quick.

It was as if another part of him took over… A part that held something he had never truly felt before… A part that knew what it  _ wanted _ and had the courage to  _ take it _ .

Virgil lunged forward, reaching his hand down his right torso. 

What was he thinking? It’s not like he had a weapon, let alone a  _ sword _ … And yet, all Roman had to do was turn a wrist and a once nonexistent katana would suddenly be  _ reality _ , well, the closest thing fascists of a personality could summon into “reality”. 

But, if Roman could do it… Couldn’t Virgil?

Oddly enough, no worst-case-scenarios came to Virgil’s mind. The only thing he felt was pure, enticing,  _ adrenaline _ .

And boy, could he get used to it.

A lot happened within those few seconds.

Virgil lunged, grabbed for his sword and… he felt metal.

Cassandra lurched back by the sudden swipe, letting Deceit topple to the concrete, giving it a wonderful hello.

“Thanks for the save, though for reference, how about  _ not _ turning my face into a shattered  _ urn _ -” Deceit turned and blinked. “...Oh.” 

For once, since being swapped, he was speechless.

Virgil stood, katana gripped in both… silver gauntlets as he kept a steady stance between Deceit and Cassandra.

His patched up hoodie was gone in a single flash. Virgil swerved his equally silver boots, placing them in an unbreakable stance. While heavy, his chainmail hood and armor complemented the sturdy breastplate fitting his chest.

Even though they were  _ far _ from out of the woods, Deceit’s eyes stayed planted on Virgil’s new, and sudden, appearance… Especially the rather  _ tight _ black under clothing.

Though he had to admit, the purple cape with golden trims was a bit overkill.

There was one other thing that definitely caught Deceit’s interest… besides slender behinds.

“How was that for a  _ pathetic spider _ ?” Virgil glared daggers at the equally speechless witch. His royal red eyes were no longer royal nor red. They were frazed and now shone an ominous tint. The flaring  _ green _ shined against the katana’s blade.

A spark had lit within Cassandra after watching the sight before her. 

At first she was surprised by the attack  _ and _ the costume change, but soon the shock turned into utter  _ delight _ .

“Heh… Ha, hahaha!!” Both men faltered slightly at Cassandra’s hysteria. Her grin was now  _ wild _ , almost distorted. “I… heh… I didn’t think  _ she _ was actually telling the truth… But those, _ those _ are the eyes of a prince, nay, a  _ knight _ !”

_ CLANG! _

Blaring green clashed with aqua blue.

Cassandra, a once intimidating and level headed commander, seems to have gone full primal. Her thin eyes continued to glow as her strength continued to grow.

All it would take is a single nudge to break that unmovable stance Virgil had so confidently secured… 

_ THWUP! _

Cassandra reared back a good twenty feet from the two men… and the propelled morningstar stuck within the concrete.

“OOO! If I knew we were changing clothes, I would’ve undressed sooner!” Deceit lifted the greyed morningstar with ease, letting his long,  _ see through _ sleeves drape in every which way. “Whatcha think? Too medieval slut-ish?”

Ironically, Deceit’s outfit was quite simple… yet unironically, unmistakable. A buttermilk yellow top covered his chest while the rest of his upper half clung to a see through cloth. Fitting for the “royal” theme, he even had a compressed shadow black corset. His black, thigh high, latex boots clinked and clacked on the hard cobblestone below as Deceit showed off his “little” outfit change.

“...Was the eye shadow  _ really _ necessary?” From what Deceit could tell, Virgil seemed unimpressed and maybe slightly offended by the copy-cat nature of the change.

“Uh, bitch? Don’t think you and Ree are the  _ only _ ones who can pull off makeup, alright?” The now somewhat taller man clacked his nails.

“We have the same face-!”

_ SHRING! _

Both Sides reeled back by Cassandra’s quick paced strike.

“Hhh, ooo, yeah, I kinda forgot she was still here…” Deceit readied his weapon in sync across from Virgil.

There was a moment of quiet suspense on who would take the first step. A cool, afternoon gust swerved around the three warriors mid-clash.

Together, Virgil and Deceit pounced.

******

The ring of clashing metal and crumbling concrete was the only sound resonating from the secluded, inner garden of The Witch’s Den.

“Left! ...MY LEFT, YOU SAURIAN CHARLATAN!” Virgil spat at his two left feet partner.

...And the occasional insult echoed itself through the manors halls.

“Maybe if you could give better directions we wouldn’t be getting our  _ cocks _ handed to us on a silver platter right now!” Deceit flinched back by Cassandra’s fast drop kick. 

The high heeled man decided to take her moment of recoil as an opportunity for a  _ head splitting _ attack… but so did Virgil.

The dragon bended back, flipping out of the way of the two Sides collusion.

The katana and morningstar collided with each other, sparks flying from the forced metal. Deceit started to rethink the whole “high heels” business after his front tips decided they would rather hug tightly to the pebbles than shimmy their way into a proper step. 

“GET THE HELL OFF ME, REPTILE!” Deceit laid sparsely on top of the now flailing knight.

“Oh come on~ You know you love it- HEY, HEY, EASY WITH THE CORSET!” Virgil instinctively made a gagging noise as he continued to shove the former snake to the side, far away from him.

“Tch. Ye may hath proved  _ her _ theory true, but I see ye both still act like  _ them _ !” Regaining her composure, Cassandra thrusted forward, sword firm in hands, at the floored Sides.

“I’ve got this-!” Both men rose up to the challenge, but quickly fumbled forwards after knocking heads with each other.

Luckily for them, Cassandra went over their tumble while they went under.

“OOF… So, you come here often?” Deceit laid face to concrete next to Virgil’s rapidly twitching eyebrows.

Reluctantly, the knight grabbed the former snake, tugging the two of them safely behind the towering hedge.

“Running again, I see…” The witch straightened her brown over shirt. She supposed it was only fair to give them a little breather to plan their next move… Emphasis on  _ little _ .

“Ooo! Dark and secluded, eh? Well, that  _ was _ always how you liked it-” Deceit’s mouth was promptly shut by Virgil’s non-sword holding hand.

“AH, AH, AH!! Shut it. Everything that’s going on over  _ here _ ,” Virgil gestured to Deceit’s entire head. “ _ Shut it _ .” Rethinking back to the whole  _ hand licking _ fiasco, the caped man swiftly removed his gauntlet.

“Oh arachnid, I thought by now you would’ve learned, you can’t just ‘shut down’ intrusive th-”

“SHUSH! Just,  _ listen _ ,” Virgil’s still blazing green eyes narrowed, daring the reptile to try anything. “...Okay. I’ve got a plan. It’s fairly obvious  _ Cassandra _ isn’t going to let us mozy off like with the twins. That leaves us only one option, we’ll have to trap her-”

“Kinky.” Deceit smirked slyly.

“NOT THAT KIND OF-” Virgil granted himself a deep inhale of breath, trying his best to contain his  _ annoyance _ . “You’re going to  _ wait _ here while  _ I _ go and distract fast and incredibly furious. Once we get in position,  _ you _ create a net to trap her. So _ simple  _ even you can pull it off.”

Deceit’s grin faltered slightly.

“...The hell’s  _ that _ supposed to mean-” A sudden,  _ rusted _ sword pinned itself within the leafy hedge, cutting short the rising argument. 

“Greetings. Am I interrupting something?” Cassandra sliced forward, briskly stepping through the now open greenery.

“Alright. Plan’s coming sooner than expected- You shall not best me  _ witch _ !” Again, Virgil and Cassandra locked weapons. 

With swift and elegant movements, Virgil danced his way around the general’s advances. He swiped, ducked, and paced, all the while, trying to give the intrusive snake an opening.

“UNEXPECTED ASSAULT!!” Deceit shouted as he… full body tackled the truly unsuspecting Dragon Witch. Both bodies being thrown threw to the other side of the hedge.

“I SAID A NET NOT- Oh, forget it!” Making his way over to the poorly  _ executed _ attack, Virgil expected to witness Deceit somewhere in the middle of fleeing for his life or getting down right  _ pummeled _ . 

To the knights surprise and dismay, Deceit had  _ somehow _ successfully pinned Cassandra down to the concrete.

“...Oh, don’t look at me like that, the whole ‘net’ plan was just so  _ boooriing _ !” Deceit whined.

“Just-” Virgil sighed… for the ten thousandth time. “ _ Just _ keep her there while I create a-”

“HRG! Don’t believe that thou hath defeated me, lowly primate! Release me at once, ye moronic  _ cretin _ !” After that last word was uttered, Cassandra’s vision went black.

Virgil didn’t have enough time to react. 

In the knight’s defense, it would have been hard for  _ anyone _ to stop a crazed man with a morningstar from slamming it into the side of a young girl’s head in that small amount of time, after all… 

******

“WAS THE HEAD THING REALLY NECESSARY?!” Virgil exclaimed, his bellowing voice bouncing off of the hallway walls.

“I  _ really _ don’t see the i _ ssu _ e here!” Deceit continued saunting onwards down the long corridor. “We’re out of that  _ sticky _ little predicament, aren’t we? It’s not like she’s dead or whatever!”

“YOU DON’T JUST GO  _ BUSTING  _ OPEN GIRLS HEADS OUT OF NOWHERE!!”

“Oh. I’m sorry. So, what you're saying is,  _ I _ should have left well enough alone and then little miss  _ weeping general _ could bust open  _ both _ our heads, right?” Deceit had stopped walking. He was now staring right into Virgil’s fading green eyes… His own starting to gloss into a more  _ redder _ tint.

All the while, the former snake kept that ever present  _ smile _ plastered on his face.

It was starting to annoy Virgil.

“THAT… That’s not the  _ only  _ problem here,” Virgil glared straight across from Deceit. Both of the Sides growing in their anger. “If you had  _ just _ followed my plan,  _ smashing _ a young girl’s head wouldn’t have been  _ necessary _ ! Though, you know, now that I think about it,  _ you _ couldn’t even follow  _ simple _ left and right directions. So, by Hades' straining sass, what was I  _ expecting _ -”

“Well, my  _ apologies _ , oh valiant  _ knight _ , but for the record, it’s not exactly a  _ walk in the park _ to follow directions that are being screamed in my  _ face _ when I’ve got A THOUSAND INVASIVE VOICES SHOUTING IN… my head.” Deceit ceased in his rambling riot. He started to realize just how  _ ironic _ his words had become… and how little credit he had been giving a certain  _ Duke _ .

“... _ Really _ ? So, what? You’re going to  _ blame _ The Duke’s  _ nature _ for your actions?” Virgil was at his wit’s end and rapidly slipping. “No. No, no.  _ This  _ has NOTHING to do with the swapping disaster. This is just how you are, huh? You  _ never _ listen to others, do you?! You never listened  _ then _ and of course! You won’t listen  _ now _ !”

Something was breaking, cracking slowly somewhere within the intrusive snake’s body… Was this the start or had it always been chipping away, bit by bit?

“That… that doesn’t have anything to do with what’s happening- Besides, I, of course I listened… back then-”

“OH, KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT, REPTILE!!” It seems Virgil’s grip had finally slipped. “No matter how many times I  _ pleaded _ , you stayed nice and warm in that little  _ bubble _ of yours! Do- Do you even  _ know _ how  _ confused _ I was then?! How  _ scared _ ?! Did you  _ even _ care-!”

“HOW COULD I HAVE KNOW?!?!” It had been so  _ long _ since Virgil had seen Deceit get  _ truly _ and  _ honestly _ upset… So, when the former snake interrupted his rant, Virgil could only stare in disbelief and shocked uncertainty. “YOU NEVER… You never made it  _ clear _ … about what you were feeling! Maybe… maybe you did.”

For a split second, Virgil could’ve sworn the beating of his heart stopped completely. Something big was coming, something that, deep down, he knew he wasn’t prepared for. 

How did he know? 

Well, because, at that moment… 

Deceit’s ever present smile had dropped.

Even as a swapped Side, Virgil could still feel that familiar, chilling wave of anxiety work its way through his entire nervous system.

“Of course I knew you were scared! But… did you think you were the only  _ one _ ?” Virgil’s icy temperature only grew as Deceit spoke… “I-I was  _ terrified _ ! Scared of what would happen if you really did choose  _ them _ over us… over  _ me _ . And then you  _ did _ . You left and I couldn’t… I couldn’t-”

Virgil couldn’t bring himself to speak, to even blink. 

He was, at first, astounded by the snake’s  _ honesty _ … Was this what Deceit truly felt? Could these words  _ actually _ be the  _ truth _ ?

But there was something else that made Virgil stand still, mouth agape. 

Deceit choked back his next words, his sobs making it all the more worse to speak coherently. The warm tears streamed down his reddening cheeks. 

He couldn’t stop them.

He didn’t try.

“...I just wish you told me,” Currently, he could care less about the tears, but he would have preferred a decrease in the shaking limbs department. “Why the  _ hell _ didn’t you  _ say _ anything?!” Even for his raised voice, Deceit’s eyes seemed  _ frightened _ behind the blaring red that now radiated.

“Wha… I-I  _ did _ .” Virgil flinched at his own cracking voice. “I  _ tried _ telling you about the others! How they weren’t what we  _ thought _ they were-”

“I’m not talking about  _ that _ …” The former snake inwardly clenched. 

“Then what are you-?!”

“WE NEVER EVEN OFFICIALLY BROKE UP!! You just…  _ left _ ,” Deceit’s already throbbing voice cracked on that last syllable. His brain finally caught up with his heart, though, and his booming words slowly sank. “I… I mean… That’s not…”

The still tearing Side kept both hands close to his mouth, he didn’t  _ dare _ let go, he was afraid of what other unspoken  _ truth _ might creep it’s way out.

Virgil didn’t move, hell, he didn’t even breathe. He had held his breath the moment Deceit’s raised voice came crashing into his eardrums.

His mind was completely blank. No anxious doubts or marvelous ideas flooded his thoughts. 

Everything was just…  _ numb _ .

After a brief silence, the heart pounding knight at last found his voice… Unlike the former snake.

“I… Deceit-”

_ CRACK! _

Before a response could be announced, a rumbling helpfully interrupted the fading conversation, splitting the tension in the air… quite literally.

The quick but impactful tremor split the floor beneath the two men, separating them.

After the quake, shakily, Virgil and Deceit locked eyes, one overwhelmed and blurred with teardrops, the other filled with confusion and something that looked to be… regret?

They couldn’t ponder on each other's feelings for long, though. 

It was similar to that of an error screen. A  _ static _ had taken over Deceit’s torso, leg, arm, and soon enough, his whole body.

The strange glitch effect was sparse in it’s arrival. It didn’t stay for long and once it vanished, so did Deceit.


	7. Grave Conclusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Patton and Remus find Antiques for the Heart in a less than cheerful state, the Sides are hit with some rather grave realizations...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS:  
> Vague mention(s) of a car crash.  
> One very confused man.
> 
> Haha, been a hot second since I posted, eh? I decided to skip August on posting this chapter. I had to take care of graduation and birthday things~ Congrats to everyone who graduated in this c r a z y time and stay safe to those going back to school!!  
> Anyways, this chapter is a bit more realizations and explanations than any actual action... just wait until the next one tho! ;3

“Hey, hey!! I’m sure this is…  _ fine _ !” Remus was thankful Deceit- well,  _ Logan _ , wasn’t present right now, otherwise the lie detector of a Side would be going off the charts.

He  _ wanted _ to believe everything was just hunky dory, but from the look of things, that little hope was slowly being crushed.

While the sky blue building wasn’t big to begin with, inside was like an overflowing elevator. 

Shelves, bookcases, and  _ especially _ chairs were cluttered with various, seemingly random, assortment of things. The shelves were housing a variety of trophies, most pertaining to some sort of  _ theater-esc _ achievement. The bookcases, both small and tall, held books of differing kinds: Fiction, science, comedy, and astrology. Chairs upon  _ chairs _ were stacked to the brim with what looked to be… edgy poetry?

Remus softly smiled to himself.

Heh, definitely Virgil’s impeccable work there.

From a glance, Antiques for the Heart seemed like the same old claustrophobic, sentimental, memory-lane hut it had always been… but things were most certainly  _ off _ .

“I-I just don’t…  _ understand _ !” Patton shuddered, tears continuing to stream down his cheeks. Part of Remus wondered how his eyeshadow was unaffected by this… “Why…  _ Why _ is everything  _ grey _ ?!” 

The Duke didn’t have an answer.

He was still questioning this himself.

Every tucked away box, forgotten school project, rundown toy, any “ _ antique _ ” Thomas had held sentimental value to in his past was completely  _ grey _ … Almost lifeless.

Glistening, mini chandeliers adorned the tall, expanding ceiling, lighting up the littered area… or trying to, at least.

Not only was every antique faded, the place looked overshadowed. It was like those very shadows within the nooks and crannies were expanding far beyond its intended length.

“How…” Patton was gently caressing different antiques since the two had first entered the hut. “I j- **just- how? H-How?** ”

“H-Hey now! I… Honestly, I-I don’t know, bud…” Remus lightly placed a hand upon Patton’s trembling one while warmly rubbing his equally shaking shoulder. “B-But, I’m sure there’s some sort of explanation! A reason for-”

“Well, you’re **_definitely wrong_** there.” An all too familiar voice in an all too _familiar_ tone interrupted the little comfort huddle The Duke and emo dad had acquired. “There **_couldn’t_** **_possibly_** be a _logical_ explanation for the whole _monochrome_ scenery.” 

“What Logan is  _ attempting _ to explain,” Roman stood next to his interrupting partner, the two looking rather sharp in their new… attire. “You are correct. There is in fact a rational reason for our swapped personalities  _ and _ the faded appearance of Antiques for the Heart… But regrettably, it is not a  _ pleasant _ explanation and the results of it are… quite  _ dire _ .”

The two Sides listened closely to their new guests reminiscing tale of grave discoveries, the one Roman and Logan had embarked on just after their swapping conundrum…

******

Stepping outside of his rental car, Thomas sighed heavily, letting the day's unplanned  _ crashes _ slowly sink into his incredibly exhausted mind.

“So much for a first rehearsal…” Thomas mumbled softly to himself.

Walking into his apartment, Thomas headed straight for the kitchen.

While the doctors said the migraine medicine should kick in after thirty-odd minutes, the performer decided to lend a helping hand in the “soothing” department. Lord knew he needed it.

Sleepytime tea sounded utterly  _ fantastic _ right now. An early bedtime to sleep off the pain.

Grabbing the kettle pot, Thomas started filling it with tap water, his bed feeling so  _ close _ yet so far away-

“No, no. Take your time, really. It’s  **_not_ ** like we’ve been  _ waiting _ half of the day for you or anything.” A quite sarcastic voice spoke.

Luckily, Thomas caught the filled kettle before it had a chance to hit the floor after that startling interruption.

“JEEZ! Give a guy a warning next time Deceit-” Thomas was hesitant in finishing his statement, being a bit overwhelmed by the sight before him.

Two figures stood across the kitchen counter of which the performer’s drained and pained mind did not recognize.

The one to his left had a solid and straight forward stance. His starry, gray sweater clung loosely to his upper body. The black suspenders clipped to his red, checkered pants complemented the man’s equally red bow tie. The proper man’s attire was complete thanks to the black rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

As for the man to Thomas’ right, he was on another page, an entirely different book, really.

Almost his entire outfit was black, the exceptions being the man’s white accessories: His neck collar, the lower part of his silky shirt, and the cuffs of his rather short dress jacket. The only color in this black and white scenery was the faded blue bow tie gently sitting on the man’s exposed neck.

Though, the thing throwing Thomas for a loop was the fancy man’s  _ snake scales _ running down his entire left jawline and sickeningly thin left  _ snake eye _ .

“...Wha-”

“Before you ask, no, I am Roman and that is Logan.” The half snake man next to Roman smiled and waved his black, cropped gloved hand, wiggling his fingers at the now very  _ wide eyed _ Thomas. “It is quite confusing, yes, but never mind that. Thomas, tell us  _ exactly _ what happened after you left your apartment this morning.”

“Oh. O-Oh! Gahh… Well, uh, I was half-way t-to the rehearsal and after going through the intersection a car ran the red light and hit the side of me- W-Wait. Shouldn’t you already know this? Weren’t you guys with me during the crash? I-I at least thought Virgil and L-Logan would’ve been pretty  _ active _ during that. At the very least, maybe Remus…” 

“Hm. I see.” Roman stared down, thinking, the gears within his metaphorical mind groaned and grind. 

Thomas’ sudden crash would explain the Sides seemingly unexplained swapping dilemma… Thomas must have also knocked out immediately after he was hit, explaining their unexpected shut-eye as well. 

“That confirms my suspicion- No, we were not. All of us lost connection with you for a brief moment, most likely after the cars first collided… But more importantly, how were you feeling when you woke up after the crash?”

Thomas thought for a moment, the shock from past events and his now  _ peculiar _ looking Sides were making his brain perform figure eights on repeat… He just didn’t have enough energy to question much of anything now. 

Thomas decided to put a pin in Roman’s last contradicting comment and answered the question regardless of his growing confusion.

“...Um. I was, obviously, pretty  _ freaked _ out… Though, I think that poor woman was more freaked out than I was.”

“Ah. Yes. You are referring to Vivian? The young woman who, incidentally, collided her car with yours?” The performer looked on at the nerdy prince, confused by his abundant knowledge. “Oh, while we were incapacitated for a brief moment after the initial collision, Logan and I were, in fact, present during your brief stay at the hospital and conversation with Miss Vivian. Though, the both of us decided to, uh… to…” 

Roman stopped. 

He started searching his mind for the right terminology, for the right  _ words _ . He was… surprised at how long it took him to regain his voice. “Ahem, we d-decided to ‘lay low’ until you had proper time to… recollect your thoughts.”

“Careful there, Wikipedia,” The once soundless Logan intercepted. “We’d just  **_love_ ** to bore our readers with such dry  _ recapping _ , hm?”

“Read… ers?”

“No, no! Forget it. It was  **_nothing_ ** at  _ all _ .”

“Wait. What did you-”

“Really, Roman. I wouldn’t bother. Not like you’d  _ understand _ even if I  _ explained _ it to you anyways…”

“Ooooh, we are  _ not _ having this conversation right now-”

“Oh  _ aren’t we _ ?”

Well, this was certainly… new.

Thomas didn’t exactly know how to respond after the two’s  _ informative _ and  _ sarcastic _ remarks. 

Heh, the two oddly dressed Sides almost remind him of… 

“Uh… Speaking of  _ feeling _ okay, are you two-” Thomas spoke, well, tried too, at least.

“Yes. We are  _ not _ having this dissension at the moment. There are other, more  _ important _ , matters to-” Roman persisted.

“OH! And here I thought _I_ was the _deceitful_ Side now!” Logan persisted harder. “But it seems like I was **_mistaken_** , huh? You seem just as capable at _lying_ as you are at _jumping to conclusions!_ ”

“GUYS, GUYS!!” Letting the kettle heat up, slowly, Thomas went to join his two bickering Sides in the living area. “ _ Why _ are you guys acting so… different? Not that I’m disliking the new, um,  _ looks _ but kind’ve sudden, ya know? A-And what did you mean by ‘lost connection’?!”

“Oh, come now, Thomas. It’s utterly  **_obvious_ ** about what’s going on here, isn’t it?” Logan huffed.

“Not really, no.” Thomas continued looking on at his Sides with a dazed confusion.

“...Well, from what we’ve gathered, it seems that your car crash this morning had an  _ affect _ on all of us.” Roman straightened his perfectly placed glasses. “When the car hit you, it must have caused a sort of  _ shock _ within your mind… thus  _ switching _ all of us around.” 

“W-Wait, wait. So  _ all _ of you are, what? S-Swapped-?” Thomas’ voice shuttered… and so did his legs.

Walking closer to his Sides seemed like a pretty good idea at first, to get a better view and everything… if only his legs didn’t feel like quivering jelly.

Swiftly, Logan caught hold of the falling performer before he could, literally, break a leg.

“S-Sorry. Sorry! No, no! I’m good. I’m-”

“Right. Because your shaking legs and  _ Virgil-white _ complexion just  _ screams _ ‘ **_I’m good_ ** .’” Logan shuffled the rather weary looking Thomas over to the couch.

“Thomas…” A realization had overcome Roman. “How are you feeling…  _ currently _ ?”

“I feel…  _ fine _ -” The fancy snake scoffed. “...Okay. So, I don’t feel like the  _ best _ person in the world, but I mean, I  _ was _ just in a car accident!”

“I assume your head is hurting quite a lot?” Roman felt something skitter in the back of his mind… 

“Well,  _ yeah _ , but like I said- Car accident! Guys, seriously, I know you’re worried but I  _ swear _ I’m completely fine! And I’m sure we can figure out how to switch all of you back soon…”

That final puzzle piece had snapped into place within Roman’s ticking brain. But, the more he looked at this completed puzzle, the more he  _ prayed _ it was incorrect.

Looking over at the exhausted performer, though, he had a feeling it truly was right… 

“...Y-Yes. Of course. For now, I believe you need a proper amount of rest, Thomas.” Logan stared tentatively at Roman, uncertainty ridden within his eyes. “While you prepare for bed, Logan and I will go… check on a few things in the Mind Palace. Perhaps we will be able to find a solution to our swapping problem now that we know the cause.” 

Thomas nodded at the nerdy prince’s suggestion as the concerned Sides sunk down into the inner Mindscape…

******

“ **SO THOMAS IS DYING** ??!!” Patton exclaimed, looking a little worse for wear, after the reminiscing tale had ended.

“Heeey, nooo! I’m  _ sure _ that’s not what Ro is saying!” Remus shifted his gaze. “RIGHT, ROMAN?”

The nerdy prince stiffened under his brother’s glare.

“Well, n-no. Not exactly,” Roman awkwardly coughed, trying to wrack his brain for the best way to sugar coat his theory. “Our switch  _ is _ affecting Thomas, and I fear that if we continue like this for an extended period of time… It could result in  _ unwanted _ consequences.”

“Right. Because you’re such an **_expert_** on our _Freaky Friday_ predicament, hm?” Logan rolled his eyes at his swapped companion’s alarming statement.

Remus twitched at the  _ aggressive _ nature Logan began emitting.

Something was… different. More “different” than they already were. 

Ever since the  _ royal couple _ got together, The Duke has had the  _ luxury _ of watching his brother become a bumbling, lovestruck puppy dog. Now, you may think the classic ‘brother jealousy’ would come into play, but nothing like that ever entered Remus’ complicated emotions. A part of him  _ did _ want to drop the couple off a cliff, though. Maybe into an acidic vat of chemicals. Den of wolves, perhaps? ...Again, jealousy didn’t have  _ anything _ to do with it, though.

But now, seeing Logan and Roman act so…  _ distant _ from each other… It made Remus have an  _ odd _ sensation in his chest. 

But, surely Patton’s sickeningly sweet personality was to blame here… It… must be.

“At first, yes, I assumed the car accident was the cause for Thomas’ weary state, but I  _ needed _ to be positive,” Roman stated. “And looking at the state of things here, I believe my hypothesis might have been correct… But, I would rather not further test my theory.”

“ **S** -So…  _ How _ do we all switch back?” Patton whispered out after finishing his breathing technique.

“Maybe Thomas needs to  _ recreate _ his shocked state of mind, enough for him to pass out again?  **_Another car crash, perhaps_ ** -?”

“NO!!” Remus and Patton shouted out in unison.

“W-Whatever solution we think up, we need to proceed with it quickly,” Logan seemed to tense up further at Roman’s cracking voice. “I don’t know what will happen if we extend our swapped situation out any longer-”

_ CRACK! _

All of the Sides tensed up at the echoing sound coming from beyond Antiques for the Heart.

A crackling commotion heaved it’s wave of sound across The Mindscape.

Strangely enough, the heart shaking cascade of noise was that of  _ thunder _ …


	8. A Riddle for your Troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get revealed where the former snake of a man had ended up and how he's processing his past actions... He's taking it... well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS:  
> A panicking (and possibly tripping-) man stumbling through a forest(?)  
> Very terrible puzzle solving.  
> Confusing foreshadowing.  
> (Honestly, what have these warning tags become?)
> 
> Hahaha, long chapter go brrrrrr.  
> I sWeAr, the final few chapters won't be super long!! Maybe...  
> Little late with my October chapter post, but it's here nonetheless! I hope you all enjoy this one because I know I did! R-Reading it... not so much writing...
> 
> (ALSO, I'm posting a new fanfic!!! It'll be up shortly! It's called "The Reminiscence of Death" Based on Sander Sides, of course~ It's a morgue, ghost, human au thingy! Check it out if you're interested!! O-Or not. I don't control your life so...)

A rising wave of static was all that he saw. 

He could actually  _ feel _ the grayish lines envelope his figure, lifting him off of the stone floor. Who knew “static” felt so much like squirming parasites ready to sink and burrow their way into your skin… Not that he actually knew what  _ that _ felt like, though.

The wriggling sensation lasted only a moment. Soon enough, Deceit found himself dropped into a lush, forest area. A big change from the dark hallway he was formerly standing in… 

The man laid flat, heaving shallow breaths from his throbbing throat. An aggravating ringing continued to suffocate his eardrums.

He could have been mistaken, but the outstretched man swore there was a hint of peppermint in the air, slithering it’s way into his gasping breaths.

_ Get up… _ Deceit felt his body grow heavier after his inner command. 

_ Gotta get… up.  _ A small tug from his chest yielded nothing. His body was staying firmly limp.

_ Get up before your limbs are pARALIZED AND CROWS START PECKING AT YOUR REMAINS!! _

Quickly taking the hint, the former snake's chest lifted upwards, the nerves in his arms feeling oddly  _ tingly _ .

Now that he started to really think… His  _ head _ was also starting to feel dazed, tightening with every invading thought.

“Gaaaah…  _ Oh God _ , fuck me with some scissors and throw me off Niagara Falls!” Deceit pressed against his currently  _ pounding _ head. “What the hell happened… Oh.”

It was at this interval, the static free man had his “ah-ha!” moment.

Deceit gazed upwards, bewildered at the cobblestone wall towering over him.

Somehow, in some “static induced coma” way, Deceit found himself outside the confines of The Witch’s Den. In his confused and muffled state, the former snake failed to take notice of the peppermint smell growing ever so stronger… 

******

Silence.

_ Step… Step… Step…  _

Besides the small clatter from his boots echoing off of the mansion's motionless walls, silence was the only thing filling Virgil’s ears.

How long had he been walking for now? Five minutes? twenty? An hour?

The roaming knight was unsure of a lot of things at the moment, including the time itself.

So far, every door, window, even chimney was either locked, barred or boarded. If there was truly no way out of this den of  _ dragons _ , how could he ever hope of escaping from The Hunt? 

Adding to his agenda, what,  _ by the Gods _ , happened to his less scaly and not-so-much friend of a wench? Weird, grey  _ spaghetti _ appearing out of nowhere and whisking people away wasn’t exactly a normal occurrence. 

Was it one of the Dragon Witches? Another one of their “talents” Virgil didn’t know about? It  _ must _ have been… 

Speaking of certain reptiles, did Virgil even dare go into the subject of Deceit’s feelings about-

_ No. O-One thing at a time, Virge. One thing at a time…  _

For now, he should focus on an escape route. While being an observant knight, Virgil could spend hours in this decrepit mansion searching for his lost… companion. At least he had more leads on  _ how _ to escape compared to vanishing snakes. 

Though, even that seemed to be a struggle to achieve.

For such a worn down mansion, it showed no signs of cracks or rust, at least, nothing easily breakable for a makeshift escape route. He  _ could _ try creating something like he did his sword, but even then-

_ Matching thy colors, seek out the statues clutter…  _

The riddle… The statues! Skidding to a halt, Virgil turned and began running towards the courtyard, sprinting head first until-

******

-He tripped.

Deceit didn’t think his blurry vision was  _ that _ bad… until the former snake landed face first onto the prickly grass below.

“Muv-ee,” Picking himself back up, or at least  _ attempting  _ too, Deceit spat out the remaining grass spikes. “ _ Lovely _ . Didn’t think I’d be getting  _ that _ intimate with grass, yet here we are- No. No. Focius- Fosus-  _ FOCUS. _ ”

The slurring man pinched his temples as tight as his pain tolerance would let him. He was concentrating  _ hard _ , blocking out the maniac voices in his head. He  _ needed _ to figure out exactly where he was and how to get back to Virgil before-

_ Virgil… Virgil…  _

“OH GOD, VIRGIL,” One of the many missing puzzle pieces just snapped into place and this one, this one was the  _ most _ unpleasant. “I didn’t…  _ Please _ , someone, tell me I  _ didn’t _ .”

The former snake went quiet, thinking back to the two’s daunted conversation…

He definitely did.

“AGGGH!!” The now beat red snake threw his hands up in both defeat  _ and _ embarrassment. “FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC!! Of cooourse I just had to throw in that little comment at the end! I’ve already  _ bulldozed _ our relationship 69 feet under, might as well make it all the way to 420-!”

The frantic man staggered forward in his fit. His unbalanced legs falling to the side of a nearby tree.

“I-I can’t… I s-shouldn’t have said…” The world was spinning.

It was like he was under water, the pressure within his head continuing to build… along with the peppermint smell.

An intense heat of spices burned it’s way into Deceit’s nostrils, swirling through his throat, and bounding it’s peppery way into his mind, warping his brain to hell and back.

Everything was fading down to black. 

His vision blurred. His knees fell. The only sense he had left in use was his hearing, and even that was getting numbed by the pounding of his heart.

Right before the ting of relief from his fainting spill was about to hit him, he was back. He could see clearly and move with ease. Even the nausea he once felt had dissipated.

Now though, the peppermint aroma was everywhere, filling up the air around him.

For a moment, the former snake was in a tranquility of bliss… 

But soon enough, he started to pray for that nausea once again. 

“Lying!” A soft, child’s voice rang out in front of the slouched over man. “L-Lying! Wait for me!”

“Come on, Fear! Hurry up, slow poke!” Another child remarked.

Panic started to settle over Deceit’s stupefied confusion.

_ Anything… Anything else… Show me ANYTHING ELSE BUT THIS- _

******

“-this complete  _ horseshit _ !” An exasperated knight cursed. “ _ How _ , by the thundering cry of Zeus, is  _ anyone _ supposed to solve this?!”

Retracing his steps, Virgil was back at the ill-fated garden. Their once restrained attacker nowhere to be seen. The galient knight was fairly nervous in encountering Cassandra, that strange-talking general of a woman. If another assault like before occurred, he had a feeling no measly sword, or morningstar wielding _ maniac _ , could stop the well adapted Dragon Witch. 

Now though, through all his worries, he was slightly,  _ only _ slightly, wishing to have another all out battle again… After all,  _ anything _ seemed better than  _ this _ .

“Grh! I’ve  _ literally _ tried every combination!” Virgil kicked the low side of the wide statue, immediately regretting his brass decision. “SHI- SUGARHONEYICETEA!! Oh, come on! I-It doesn’t even make sense!”

Following along with the dragon's riddle, the knight had found the “statues clutter”, two of them, in fact.

One set of sculptures, a royal red.

The other, a puke-ish green.

The two sets had three identical statues each, the middle ones sported dashing crowns and beards. Embedded within both of their chests read,  _ The King _ .

The tallest ones had wings and tails protruding from their long hair. Looking above, they both wore hats resembling that of a classic witch. Embedded in the middle of these two were the words,  _ The Queen _ .

And finally, the two smallest statues wore capes, the design making it look as though the capes were flowing in the wind. Atop their head, small, chipped crowns idly sat. The words embedded within their chests read,  _ The Heir _ . 

Once Virgil had found these two sets of statues, it was easy to put two and two together, especially after looking at the statue's surroundings.

Below the set of statues were squares, a classic chess board.

Each set was placed on their respective sides, green on the left, red on the right. And below, within certain squares, identical images sat on both sides. 

A castle. Some clouds. Large trees. And flowers.

Virgil let out a long sigh.

“...Okay- Okay! This is  _ simple _ . Just place the statues on the right squares!” The knight glared intently at what felt like his hundredth placement. “GAH! NO. NO! I’ve placed these statues in  _ every _ possible position they could be  _ placed _ in!! What more do you want?!”

The irritated man took a step back.

He  _ must _ be missing something… He already  _ tried _ thinking like Roman and, eh, Remus. Putting the statues exactly where they would place them. 

Then again… 

“Ophelia said those two haven’t even  _ solved _ this riddle yet, and it’s been  _ years _ …” Virgil sat for a moment, leaving his current predicament alone and thinking back to the words of the dragon’s riddle…

_ Matching thy colors, seek out the statues clutter…  _

The two colored statues in the garden… 

_ Placement is key within this endeavor, but to solve the riddle you must consider procedure…  _

Place each set of colored statues in the right square with the right image… 

_ Only when seen through another’s heart, the severed door will finally be unlocked… _

“Seen through another’s heart,” Virgil mumbled. “This… This puzzle was made for Roman and Remus… W-What if-”

Rising from his spot, the knight made his way to the green faded set of sculptures, eyeing them up curiously.

“Those two probably tried every placement that I have,” Virgil held the tallest statue, beginning to move it towards the castle square. “But I know for a  _ fact _ , those two never tried placing them the way the other would.”

Finished with The Queen’s placement, Virgil began with The King next, muttering his thoughts out loud.

“Alright. If I was Roman- Well, not that hard to imagine now, actually- If I was Roman, I’d place them this way because… Well, because Roman… he’s-”

******

“AMAZING!” Squealed a young boy at his friend's remarkable feet. “DO IT AGAIN! DO IT AGAIN! DO IT-”

The excited boy shook his focusing friend beside him, chanting for another glance at such an enchanting trick.

“OKAY, OKAY- FEAR, PLEASE!” Fear stopped in his shaking, the sleeves covering his hands by a long distance coming to an abrupt stop. “I-If you keep shaking me, I’ll  **_definitely_ ** be able to focus.”

The sleeved boy quieted down, staring intently at the potted plant below them. His anticipation outwardly bubbling around him.

The older boy softly smiled at his friend’s pure joy.

Setting his hands back over top the pot, the older boy quietly closed his eyes, putting all his focus into that single dirt spot.

Well, almost all his focus.

He remembered it with ease. 

Every detail was laid out immaculately.

Deceit could still feel his trembling hands above that chipped, little pot. His suspenders tightening along with the beating of his heart. His small, nerve splitting companion’s gaze waiting expectantly.

Not to mention, the thoughts he had in that exact moment…

_ A-Alright. You’ve got this, Lying. Easy peasy. You‘ve done this a million times. Make something to impress him…  _

_ Something pretty? _

_ Something fun? _

_ Something like…  _

A budding sprout began to grow from the soft soil within the pot. An emitting yellow light surrounded the boy's hands, along with the small sprout. With enough effort, the tiny bud grew in stature. Changing from a dim green to a glowing red, the petals from the dainty flower spread free, greeting the two boys.

“Lying,” Fear gently whispered, afraid even his soft voice would hurt the newborn flower. “It’s so pretty! W-What’s this one called?”

“A-Anemone… O-Or most people call them windflowers.” The sleeved boy smiled at his answer, turning back to gaze at the fluttering red flower… Lying, on the other hand, continued to keep watch over his small friend’s ecstatic expression. Himself, smiling along with the astounded young boy.

Standing behind this forgotten memory, Deceit let out a shaky breath. All rational questions had left the swapped man. The only thing enclosing his thoughts right now was a dreadful longing.

At one point in time, Virgil and Deceit truly were close. They’d never admit it now, but the other Sides would have called the two friend’s inseparable.

You could not have one without the other.

Looking over this warm memory, Deceit smiled at the open affection the two boys had, the trust they had found solace in at such confusing times.

Honestly, the swapped snake yearned for what these two boys had.

He’d give anything, for just a moment, to feel that unbreakable bond one more time.

...The two men had  _ something _ once upon a time. 

When did things  _ change? _

The frail windflower twitched suddenly, retracting it’s silky red petals inwards.

“A-Ah! W-What did I do?!” Fear crept away, latching onto his friend’s arm.

Lying shook his head desperately.

“There’s  **_something_ ** wrong! This kind of flower  **_doesn’t_ ** do this sometimes. Some say it means that it might rain soon-”

Right on cue, the dark, swirling clouds approached the young boys huddled beneath the swaying trees. Droplets of rain poured from above, soiling the moment of bliss the two had created… 

“This… This isn’t right,” Deceit took a shaky step back. “It didn’t rain that day- This is… different.”

The young boys took each other by the hand, scuttling to shelter from the now flood surrounding them.

The water rose, encircling the former snake. The man could barely make out the fading silhouettes of the carefree children as the rain pounded. The waves rising higher and higher and-

******

-Higher the knight’s confidence grew.

From the look of things, Virgil was fairly confident in this particular positioning.

“Let’s see…” Virgil stood back, admiring his handiwork. “The Queen within the castle, keeping peace between the kingdom. The King hidden inside his garden, worried for his child. The Heir out in the woods, searching for their purpose.”

Virgil stretched his arms, cracking his knuckles outwards from his exhaustion.

“Well, that should do it. If I’ve learned anything about Roman over the many  _ infuriating _ years I’ve spent with him, he is certainly one for the dramatics! But, his stories, no matter how cheesy, somehow always manage to reflect such raw emotion… Heh. Damn Prince.”

While there was no actual bell or signifying light to inform the knight of his possible success, something within his heart felt that this  _ had _ to be the correct answer… at least for  _ half _ of the puzzle.

Turning his attention over to the red colored statues, Virgil hesitated in his movements.

“And now for  _ his _ side…” The man held back a disgusted jerk of the chest. “Do I really  _ have _ too? ...He wasn’t the _ best _ . HA! Hell, what am I saying? That psychotic octopi slithered his grimey tentacles into my nightmares… But, for all his maddening actions, he still-”

******

-Never changes.

Back then and especially now, they  _ still _ and  _ will _ never change!

What was he expecting? Some grand  _ epiphany _ to wake those, what did that buffoon call them,  _ Light Sides _ ?

Ha! Ridiculous.

Deceit watched on as a younger, much more  _ forward _ version of him stormed through the garden’s gates… An anxious friend following close behind.

“Of  _ course _ !” An aggravated snake paced around the flowing fountain. “Give someone an inch, they take a mile!”

Passively, a younger looking Virgil avoided the fuming snake, plopping himself upon the fountain’s edge.

While venting his anger, the snake still took notice of his partner’s unusually  _ quiet _ nature.

“... Little Arachnid?” His harsh, aggravated tone melted into concern towards the anxious one. “What’s wrong? You’re normally a bit more vocal when it comes to the  _ idiocy _ of The Others. Are you- Oh God. Is it because of- Don’t you  _ dare _ listen to whatever that sorry  _ excuse _ for ‘imagination’ has to say! He’s barely even a  _ Side _ to begin with-”

“...bad.” A hardly audible whisper mumbled.

“I mean, really.” The snake continued, unperturbed. “Such a  **_humble_ ** and  **_noble_ ** , what was it, Prince? Ha!”

“...not bad.” Another whisper, he’s volume was almost higher than the buzz of a fly.

“You’d expect a  _ Prince _ to care for the weak, not  _ insult _ them…  _ Prince _ , though? Heh. He really is  _ half  _ the Side he  _ used  _ to be-”

“FALLACY,” The snake flinched at the sound of his title, surprised at his love taking on a more  _ formal _ label. “I… T-They really aren’t… so  _ bad _ .”

Fallacy ceased his marching.

“...What? Aren’t _ bad _ ? Virgil, ignore all this ‘Light’ and ‘Dark’ Side nonsense,  _ they’re _ in the wrong here! They have done  _ nothing _ but hold us all back,  _ especially _ Thomas! All the  _ lies _ they’ve told you over the years, the  _ pain  _ they’ve brought us! HA! And they call us the ‘dark; ones! Not to mention what that so called  _ heart _ did to-”

“Of course I know that!” Virgil shot up, taking an unbalanced stand towards the snake. “But they’re different- They aren’t like what we thought they were!”

Fallacy stared intently at his partner’s eyes, looking for any sort of lie he could find. Surely, surely this sort of talk wasn’t  _ really _ his love’s intention? If not directly, the anxious Side  _ must  _ be lying to himself…?

“ _ Para… _ What did they say to you?”

“Wha-what?” The hooded man took a step back, resting his eyes on anything  _ but _ his partner’s.

_ There it is _ .

“Para. Did you  _ seriously _ think you could lie to me?  _ Me _ of all the damn-” It wasn’t the fact that he was Thomas’ more  _ untruthful _ Side, it was the fact that his own  _ boyfriend _ was trying to  _ lie _ to his face… 

Virgil could feel it.

The drop of his shoulders. The shade hovering over his eyes-

The misunderstanding was growing.

He needed to do something,  _ say _ something before-

“No I-”

“Heh… Haha! Aw, you know, I really should have expected this.” Too late. The snake's demeanor rapidly twisted. “A little whisper here, a well placed smile there, and boom! You’ve got yourself a grade-A  _ scheme _ ! So tell me, what did those  _ Light Sides  _ say to you? No, no, lemme guess, it was Emotion, wasn’t it? Offered you a  _ better _ life, huh? One where they all ‘listen’ to you, where Thomas actually sees you?”

“T-That’s not what I…”

Fallacy wheezed out an almost painfully hollow laugh, his hand hugging the side of his face… while hiding the small sting of a tear starting to form.

“OF COURSE HE DID! I SHOULD’VE- Heh… I should’ve  _ known _ . If all they think is that we’re a burden… If all  _ you _ think is that we’re some  _ burden _ , damn vermins in Thomas’ ‘oh so angel-like’ mind… THEN YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO BE ONE OF  _ THEM _ !!”

Even Deceit himself winced along with Virgil at his younger-self’s confused aggression.

“...Really?” Deceit couldn’t bear to look- to even  _ hear _ , he shoved his hands up to his ears for the disaster he  _ knew _ was coming. “So is that what you want? FINE! Whatever! I’ll  _ leave _ then-” Virgil’s eyes burned by the tears currently filling them as he strode past his…  _ the _ snake.

And then, black.

Along with his ears, Deceit kept his eyes firmly cut off from any senses going on around him. He wasn’t reliving  _ any _ more of these intrusive memories. And he certainly wasn’t sticking around for  _ this _ one’s difference.

“T-This isn’t happening. This isn’t h-happening. It’s _not_ _real_. IT’S NOT-”

_ Awww, party pooper. _

Deceit’s eyes were opened wide with confusion at his actual pitch dark surroundings… and by the sudden,  _ unfamiliar _ voice that now rang in his head.

Slowly, the raspy voice grew-

******

-Louder like the grinding scrape of old chalk on an even  _ older _ chalkboard.

Huffing like a mad man, Virgil finished his last placement for the red statues.

“ _ Please, God, tell me that was it- _ ” Hacking up the remains of the little strength he had, the knight took a breath.

“Okay… So, Remus. That… _chaotic_ _maniac_ …” Dropping his tired nature, the knight soon began re-speaking his thoughts. “The Queen high above the clouds, lost within her own despair. The King’s ripped body lost within the twisting woods. And The Heir… waiting patiently at the castle for his beloved family to return.”

It was quiet for just a moment while Virgil stared blankly at his placement.

“...Wow. Uh, okay- Would  _ Remus _ really place them like this… Maybe? I-I mean, the guy was always more on the  _ gory _ side of creations but… it was real. He never sugarcoated anything. They were horribly gruesome stories, sure, but they were  _ real _ … Huh.”

Again. Another moment of silence as the knight waited.

...Maybe he truly  _ did _ get the placements wrong?

Swiftly looking around, Virgil shrugged as he stepped forward to re-start his placements again.

_ Clap. Clap. Clap. _

That is, until a slow clap emerged from behind him.

“You really are remarkable, do you know that, my fair  _ knight _ ?” A soft, motherly voice spoke. “I have to say, solving the riddle on your  _ first try _ ? Utterly remarkable!”

“M-Madame Ophelia!” Virgil stumbled back by the Dragon’s sudden appearance. “I- Uh- Wait… I  _ solved _ it?”

Ophelia smiled warmly at the Side’s shocked joy. She nodded to the man’s relief.

“OH THANK THE GODS!”

“Hehe…” The mother of Dragons gently stepped beside the knight. “So, how do you think you solved it?”

Virgil looked up from his exhausted happiness, confusion now settling in his eyes.

Another calm laugh.

“Haha! Well, fret not. You not realizing the  _ reason  _ for your success makes this all the more clever~” Ophelia brought her gaze to the two statues. “I was watching, you know? I always watch when our dear creators try their hands at this statue puzzle… Sometimes they would both place them at the same time, but… that always ended in a scuffle. So, my dear twins mostly performed their placements alone.”

A heavy sigh left the usually grand-looking Dragon Witch.

“You know,  _ they _ did this exact placement.” At this Virgil mouth was left agape.

“ _ WHAT _ . T-Then why did I-”

“The one difference between  _ you _ and my sweet Royals was… Perspective.” Ophelia continued on with her exposition of coded reasons. “...We can get so caught up with our own troubles and worries that we forget to consider other perspectives. I made this puzzle, this riddle, this whole  _ Hunt _ fiasco for them. For my twins… The placement was never the answer. It was a factor, yes, but not the  _ answer _ . I wanted them to consider it from their brother’s point of view. To give their  _ honest _ and  _ pure _ reasons for why the other would place their statue in such a way as this.”

“It didn’t have to be correct… It just had to be  _ real _ .” The yearning mother ceased her speech, letting her reasons sink into the knights heart.

Like before, Virgil was speechless. Something started to connect within his mind. He could almost  _ hear _ the pieces clicking into place…

“...My apologies. This should be a celebration rather than an old woman's silly little banter.” Turning to the baffled knight, Ophelia bowed graciously. “Congratulations on the first Side to win The Hunt! You and your companion may leave freely from these walls. I do hope the best result from your swapped dilemma.”

Virgil rose to speak, to ask where his estranged partner might be but-

“And please, due keep the riddle’s answer close to your chest. We wouldn’t want any  _ Royals _ cheating, now do we? Fair tidings, my dear knight.” With a playful wink, the mother dragon was gone in a wisp of inky smoke.

_ From another’s perspective _ .

“She… just wanted them to understand each other…” That loose little puzzle piece had slipped back into it’s snug place, showing Virgil a quarter of the bigger picture. But, it was still enough for him to think, to  _ consider _ \- “Maybe… I was wrong…”

******

_ Nawwww, come on now! _ The chain-smoker voice echoed out into the dark abyss.  _ Why’d you stop the party there! We were  _ just _ getting to the juicy bit! _

Deceit fumbled his suddenly groggy legs through the shadows.

“W-What? W-Were you the one… who showed me those?!” The man’s words slurred together like a drunk mess.

The peppermint aroma was overwhelming…

_ Hmmm… Was  _ I _ the one who did it? Eh. Sorta. ‘S real complicated stuff goin’ on here Scaly. _ The strange voice bounced off nonexistent walls, flowing from above, behind, the right, then the left.  _ But enough about the director’s commentary, let’s focus more on the  _ cast’s _ cut _ .

_ You wanted him to stay, didn’t you? To trap him there? Together forever, as they say. _

“Wha- N-No I-” Another stumble.

_ But you wanted to, didn’t you? To chain him. To keep him. To  _ change _ him. _

“NO- No, I- I didn’t- He…” Biting his already trembling lip, Deceit spoke a truth he didn’t think he had hidden within him. “He was better off with t-them. I-If he stayed with us… with me, he’d be  _ miserable _ .”

The quirky voice was silent for a moment. Their thoughts and emotions hidden behind a vale of dim murk.

Though, one emotion was clear, this voice was quite  _ amused _ .

_ Haha! Ahhh, you’re right, Scaly. Oh… So… Right… _

The voice blurred together, getting cut off by the sound of clipping static.

Deceit’s heart was running a marathon.

He couldn’t think.

He couldn’t breath.

He moved, but hardly.

Forward, he stumbled, all the way towards an eclipsing tower high above him.

Darken clouds starting to form around his shaking body… 


End file.
